Glitch
by Nythtak
Summary: You've been stuck in a time loop for decades when you fall down a sink hole, expecting to die. Instead you meet a flower with a fake smile (you die a lot). On the bright side, you might actually discover what causes the loops - you just have to find a human named Chara. This can only go well. OC-insert
1. Chapter 1

Warnings: This chapter (and the following) have a lot of mentions/occurrences of suicide. There's also some violence (usually not too detailed).

* * *

You peer over the edge of the pit and wonder if it'll hurt when you hit the bottom. People are supposed to die from the shock of the fall first, right? Or does that only count for high buildings and bridges? You don't know the depth of the wide hole in the earth before you, but since it's pitch black with no bottom in sight you're estimating it's a rather long way down. More than enough to kill you on impact.

You blow out a huff of air, swaying back and forth on your feet. Your toes are perched right at the edge, wiggling over empty space. Looking down into the dark makes you waver a little with vertigo. It's a long way to fall. Heights have never scared you, though. You loved to climb to the tops of trees when you were younger, never getting discouraged no matter how many times you fell. You got a broken arm, a couple of ribs, and plenty of bruises for your trouble, but you thought it was worth it. The view, the freedom; it was great.

A wry grin tugs at your mouth. You miss that. Being a kid, everything so uncomplicated. Climb a tree, go to school, hang out with friends. You haven't done any of that in a while. The loops give you an infinite amount of time to waste, sure, but after a certain point it just become monotonous. Your family and friends are so predictable now, you can't even view them as real people. That's probably why it was so easy to kill them.

In this loop they're alive. Probably wondering where you are, most likely. Growing panicked, calling the cops, organising a search; you've skipped town enough times to know how it goes. Usually you go to some place you've never visited before, another country if you can get manage it. Or you hop in a car and just drive. It doesn't matter where you end up, so long as it's not the same old pattern.

It's funny – you used to hate meeting new people and going to different places. You liked your little circle of friends and spent most of your time either in the woods near your home, or in your room reading. Now you can't stand it. Anything familiar just annoys you at best, makes you homicidal at worse.

You feel like you've read every book, seen every film and TV show (even the shitty ones). You know the names of everyone in your town, know as much about them as you can get in the couple months the loops last for. None of them have made it past half a year, and you don't generally stick around for that long nowadays.

Death isn't so scary when you know you'll just wake up again before it even has time to sink in. Sure, you were a bit nervous at first. So you picked a gun. It killed you quickly, painlessly. After that – after looping twenty, thirty times – you started to get more inventive. Creative. You don't like it when you fail since you just lay about in agony for a while with people fussing over you, but it gives you something to do.

You snort faintly, shaking your head. How is this your life?

Rolling your shoulders you focus back on the pit. You'd think with the sun directly overhead you'd be able to see _something._ You scratch your cheek. It's pretty weird. You like weird. Weird means something new, something different. You didn't expect to find anything like that out here in the middle of nowhere.

Well, it's not nowhere exactly. Mount Ebott is fairly well known by the surrounding towns as not being a place your average camper will venture. There's no dangerous animals, as far as you know, but people have always been wary of it. An urban legend has built up that if you go the Mount Ebott you won't come back, and the kids who've disappeared over the years only worsen this caution. People don't like to come out here, so it's mostly untouched. No campsites or cabins or anything like that. You don't really like the quiet.

You pull your earphones out of your pocket and put them in your ears, turning on the music on your phone. It's some rock band you've heard a hundred times before. You still like it though. The place is a whole lot less eerie with a drumbeat thrumming through your head.

You didn't come here with the intention of dying. This is one of the loops where you just couldn't keep up the act. It didn't take long for your parents to realise something was up. They gently suggested going to a therapist when you wouldn't talk to them, instead spending all your time sleeping.

It was just easier sometimes to go to sleep. To not think.

They wouldn't let you, especially when you started missing school, so before they could go so far as to admit you to a psych ward you started walking. Eventually you ended up here, standing at the edge of a sink hole. You're hungry and tired, and you don't see the point in trekking all the way back to civilisation. May as well take a short cut.

With a faint sigh you turn around. There's a line of trees a few feet away from you, the thick woods thinning drastically to allow for the gaping hole in the ground. A few thick vines run around the area and into the hole, nearly catching your boots as you move. You think you'd have liked to take some pictures of the place, back when photographs actually meant anything to you.

You raise your eyes to the sky as the beat raises in tempo. The sky is mostly covered with grey-tinged clouds, and there are spots of blue between them. You like that it isn't perfect. It's more real this way.

Your eyelids fall shut as you tip back and fall.

* * *

You wake up.

That isn't a surprise, of course. What _is_ unusual is that you're not halfway up the tree in your back garden. Your mouth hangs open as you stare up at the hole in the ceiling – the rather distant hole. Light shines down from it but it barely illuminates the walls of the cavern, skirting away as if reluctant to get close, so you can't really estimate how far up it is. You just know that there's no chance you'll be getting out that way.

Which wouldn't be a problem if you'd died like you were supposed to. Jeez, you hadn't messed that up since the Washing Machine Incident. You shudder at the memory.

Sitting up slowly, you wince at your aching back. Not completely unscathed then. Still, remarkably more alive than you were expecting. You look down, expecting to see a pile of mattresses or something equally ridiculous.

Your eyebrow twitches. Flowers. You're sitting on a bed of yellow flowers, most of the crushed beneath your body, and none of them looking capable of keeping you from shattering on impact. Well. This made sense.

With a huff you push yourself to your feet, ignoring the way your back and shoulders twinge with pain. You need to figure out where you are. A moment of panic has you frantically checking your body for your phone, and with a sigh of relief you find it sitting on the flower bed. You pat the slightly squished flower it was on with gratitude. Then you tuck your phone away safely. No harm shall come to your beloved cell whilst you still have the will to draw breath.

As far as spooky caverns go, it's pretty nice. It isn't damp like you'd expect, and aside from the random bed of flowers the stone floor is flat and easy to walk on. You appreciate it after trudging through the woods for several hours (or was it days? You weren't really paying attention).

You shift, brushing the petals off your jeans. It's kind of neat to be in a new place. Sure, there were plenty of areas in the world you've yet to explore, but for the past few loops you haven't been up to doing much. An odd feeling swells up in you, making you stand a little straighter. You feel more awake than you have in a long time.

You start heading forwards out of the sunlight, where the hole narrows into a tunnel. Maybe there's a huge cave system running underneath Mount Ebott. You aren't sure if you'll be able to find an exit, but it's worth an explore. A quick glance at your phone reveals you don't have any bars, so calling for help is a no go. You shrug. It's not really your style anyway.

As your eyes adjust to the darkness you pick out stone columns lining the walls. The sight makes you blink in surprise. They look old but well maintained, hardly crumbling or damaged. Why would they be here though? If people once lived here you'd know about it, surely. You enjoy history and have read every book available within a few states of your town. You don't remember it all, of course, but you're sure you'd remember something like this.

Brow furrowed with confusion you keep going. You come to an archway with two columns on either side, some kind of emblem carved into the stone above. You trace it with your eyes, trying to place it and failing. A circle with wings spreading out from it and three triangles beneath, the middle one inverted, the design rough with age. Fantastical ideas of a lost kingdom come to mind and you snort. You were always a bit too imaginative according to your parents. Seems hundreds of loops haven't quite stripped you of that aspect.

The next room has a splash of light in the centre from another hole in the ceiling. It's otherwise pitch black; you can't even see the walls. It reminds you a little of swimming in the ocean with unimaginable depths beneath you, where anything could be lurking. The thought puts a smile on your face. You somehow managed to get eaten by a shark in one loop. It wasn't much fun at the time, but now you find it pretty funny. The odds of that happening were really low but s _omehow._ You really are quite unlucky.

You're moving away from the odd patch of green beneath the light when a voice startles you.

"What are _you_ doing here?" they accuse, sounding both angry and confused.

You turn around and look down at the yellow flower which had suddenly sprouted from the ground. It takes a moment for you to process the glaring black eyes and frown on the flower's face(?), and another for you to realise it's what spoke. What. A _flower_ just- what.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" they say, indignant.

You blink. An apologetic grin spreads across your face automatically. "Sorry about that." You're saying sorry to a flower. How brilliantly surreal.

It's their turn to look surprised. "Uh, whatever. You're a human, right?" they ask unsurely.

"Last I checked," you say. Maybe you hit your head on the way down. Or those flowers you fell on emitted a hallucinogenic. Either way this is interesting.

The flower's frown quickly twists into a jovial smile. "Hey there! I'm Flowey, Flowey the flower!" they say cheerily, an abrupt switch from the previously irate tone. "Golly, you must be so confused."

You shrug. "More curious than confused, to be honest."

Flowey's smile strains a bit. "Right. Well, you need someone to teach you how things work around here!"

Before you can as much as raise an eyebrow at the vaguely threatening statement something wrenches in your chest. A feeling of falling slams into you and you gasp, fingers clenching at the front of your sweater as you reel back. It's not like pain, not really, but you feel deeply vulnerable for the first time in years, and that's somehow worse than any wound.

Then you catch sight of the heart hovering just in front of your body. It's about the size of your fist and coloured a smoky grey, oddly vibrant against the darkness. You raise a hesitant hand to it, not quite touching but close enough to feel the faint warmth it omits. You feel a pull to it, a need to protect, and possessiveness shudders through you. The feeling increases in intensity when you see the sharp way Flowey is watching it.

"This is your soul, the very culmination of your being." Their smile turns cruel and mocking. "It's weak, just like you! So it's very easy for monsters like me to do…" White pellets appear in the air around the flower, spinning rapidly in place. You take a step back, the heart – your s _oul,_ what the actual fuck – matching the movement closely. "This!"

The pellets dart towards you and pierce through your heart. A cry of pain leaves your mouth as you hunch over, agony crackling through your chest. It's unlike anything you've felt before. You've been hit by cars, crushed by metal beams, drowned to death, stabbed; none of these experiences match the sensation of your very soul being damaged.

With a grimace you force yourself upright, cupping your heart in a vain attempt to keep it safe. The once-smooth surface has been gouged by the pellets and its light falters. You feel weak, like you haven't slept or eaten for days. You tilt to the side, your limbs heavy and vision faltering. It astounds you how delicate your soul is.

Flowey sneers. "You really are pathetic, huh? I'll just take your soul instead since it's so easy!"

Your eyes widen. Take your soul? That doesn't sound healthy. "I-if it's all the same to you, I'd r-rather you didn't," you say through gritted teeth, mouth stretched into a smile. It hurts to even talk, like there's a vice clenched tight around your chest.

They give you an odd look before their face distorts further, grin filled with fanged teeth. "Idiot. Why are you smiling when I'm going to kill you?"

You can't help but laugh. "I th-think you'll find death do-doesn't stick well with me." Your smile widens. "S-sorry 'bout that."

Flowey glares and fires off another round of bullets. You don't even have time to dodge before they tear through your hands and rip apart your soul. The last thing you see is the triumphant smirk the flower wears.

* * *

You wake up.

You take in a deep breath and blink slowly up at the distant hole in the ceiling. You're lying once more on a bed of yellow flowers, body restored to full health. There's a phantom ache in your chest but as you lay there it fades.

You snicker helplessly and swipe a hand down your face. "Well then."

* * *

A/N: I tried to stay away from Undertale fanfiction. I failed.

This follows the second person format used a lot in this fandom, though the Reader in this case is pretty much an OC. I just really like used second person POV at the moment. You'll (kind of) get a name in a few chapters, as well as some descriptors of appearance.

The character is non-binary and an asexual. I don't know if there'll be any romance (recommendations/ideas always welcome), though there is an emphasis on character relationships (largely on a friendship scale). The Reader, as you can probably tell from this (and if you read any of my fics), has a lot of psychopathic traits and is rather messed up. This will not, however, be a genocide run. Technically.

Updates will probably be sporadic though I have the next few chapters written. For anyone who reads my other stuff I have no idea if I'll get around to updating them - uni and a lack of motivation gets in the way.

Hope you enjoyed, reviews are appreciated. I'd especially like to know if any characters are OOC.


	2. Chapter 2

Warnings: Kind of pain idealization, more suicidal stuff, mild violence

* * *

You frown as you try to recall the feeling of having your soul pulled from your body. At least, that's what it seemed like. You're not really sure how far you can trust the word of someone that tried to kill you (well, succeeded in killing you. Semantics), but it's the only explanation you have so far for a floating heart which hurt you when damaged.

You want to see it again. The curiosity surging through you sharpens your mind and sends you knee bouncing rapidly. You haven't moved from the bed of flowers, sitting on it cross-legged and staring intensely at the space in front of your chest. Waiting, hoping, for something to happen. How are you even supposed to do this?

Your green sweater offers up no answers. It is a sweater - what do you expect?

Sighing, you re-cross your legs to stop them from going numb and lean back on the palms of your hands. It's getting darker, what little light provided by the sun dimming by the minute. You wonder (not for the first time) why the loop didn't start you back at you garden. Every loop has started off that way, never deviating from the set course, so why now?

Your best guess is that there's something special about this place which interferes with the loops. It's not like you even know how the loops themselves work. 'Time-space shenanigans' (insert wavy hand movement here) doesn't really explain much.

It doesn't really matter that your starting point has changed, since you would've just come back here again. A talking flower is far more interesting than anything else right now. You've gone to the flower's room five more times since your first death-via-pellet, finding out that Flowey is male in one run, that he's part of a species called monsters which were trapped down here by humans millennia ago, and that this place is called the Underground. Apt enough name, you guess. You wonder how exactly humans managed to do their trapping thing - if people had power like that you'd know about it, right? - and why they did it.

When you try to get more information from Flowey, he gets annoyed and kills you. It's a bit of a pain having to trek there over and over again, pretending you don't know anything each time.

It's mostly habit at this point; acting normal, like nothing is amiss. You suppose...you don't really need to anymore.

With a shrug you push yourself to your feet. No point sticking around when you can barely see. You've been down here seven hours according to your phone, and your stomach keeps sending out hunger pangs whilst your throat feels itchy and dry. Looping will at least take care of that.

As usual, Flowey doesn't show up until you step up to the green patch in the middle. You spin around before he can say anything and wave. "Hey there, Flowey."

He stares at you in bewilderment.

"That's a good look on you. Much better than murderous rage. Not there's anything particularly wrong with murderous rage, some people can really pull-"

"Y-you know about the resets?"

Your smile drops and you stare at the flower intently. He remembers what happens in the loops? You can only assume that's what he's referring to. You've never met anyone who could do that before – it's always just been you. Alone.

(You tried telling people. You tried everything to make them believe, to make it finally stop.

But nobody cared.)

Sitting down, you cross your legs and beam at Flowey. "I sure do!" You scratch the back of your neck. "Well, if you mean the loops. How do you know about them?" you ask casually.

He's looking at you with wide eyes, the confusion apparent in his features. It's interesting how much he can emote with such simplistic expressions. "Only…only Chara has the ability to reset, not just any random human!" he exclaims. "They must've done something. Made is so you remember as- as part of a game. Yeah," he laughs bitterly. "Sounds like them."

"Who's Chara?" you question, leaning towards Flowey. You should've done this a while back, but you hadn't even considered the possibility that he might remember. A few decades ago you would've been over the moon at the thought. Curiosity will have to do for now.

"Why should I tell you anything?" His mouth widens into a smile filled with jagged teeth. Like it always does, eventually. "I'll just take your soul and finally get out of this place! I-I'll put an end to it!"

"Then why haven't you taken my soul before now?" You chuckle. "You haven't had much problem killing me."

His petals droop slightly as he turns away, mouth turning down angrily. "Shut up."

"I just keep dying and waking up and dying and waking up and dying and waking up- give me a bit of variation here!" You throw your arms out with an exaggerated grin. He gets more frustrated with every word out of your mouth. "This is a lovely cave, really, but I can only take so much of the same environment. You're really cramping my style here, man. I need to spread my wings, leave the nest, see-"

A vine wrapping around your neck cuts you off. You choke, hands scrabbling instinctively at it. Flowey looms over you with a snarl. "Are you gonna shut up now, or should I just snap your neck?" You mime zipping your lips closed, locking it and throwing away the key. Something like exasperation flashes across his face. "Fine."

You gasp for air when the vine loosens, heaving in grateful lungs of it. You hadn't expected him to do that – if anything you'd been anticipating more of those bullets being shot your way. This sure spices things up.

Through watering eyes you see Flowey slump. "I can't take your soul," he admits quietly. "Every time it just…disappears. Back to the start of a reset, probably. Chara's soul never sticks around either when things don't go their way. But you aren't controlling it, are you?"

"Nope," you answer, popping the 'p'. "I've been looping – or resetting, I guess – for years and I've never had any control over it. Only now I keep going back to this place instead. Any idea why, oh murderer mine?"

He frowns at you. "You could reset before you came to the Underground? That's not possible."

"Before today I thought talking flowers weren't possible." You grin broadly. "I guess it's just a day of discovery, huh?"

"Right, sure is," he agrees flatly.

"Sooooo think you could muster the benevolence to let me progress a little?" you ask politely, hooking your thumb over your shoulder to the doorway you'd yet to manage to pass through.

The sneer makes a return. "Why would I do that? Now that I know you remember, killing you is much more fun!"

You roll your eyes and flop onto your back. You probably have grass stains on your jeans now, you lament idly. Can green clothes get grass stains? You like this sweater. It's poorly made, has bits of thread poking out in places, and one sleeve is longer than the other, but you made it yourself back before...everything. Years of practice meant you could make much better ones these days, but you preferred this sweater.

"Sure thing," you state dully. At least this will get rid of the hunger gnawing at your stomach. You've never starved to death before, though you have died from dehydration. That was pretty unpleasant. No more wandering around abandoned houses, falling through rotten floorboards, breaking your legs and being unable to move or call for help, for you. Nowadays you keep a switchblade in your pocket for occasions such as that, just in case. You've gotten pretty good at finding the carotid artery on your first few tries.

Flowey's disgruntled face hovers above yours, interrupting your view of the distant hole in the ceiling. Are there many of them in the Underground? If so, maybe getting out will be easier than you assumed. You vaguely remember seeing a sign post which warned of sink holes in the area when you climbed the mountain. Those people who went missing over the years might've fallen down here, maybe gotten killed by murderous flowers. Mystery solved, have a cookie.

"What are you doing?"

"Craving cookies," you answer, a frown forming on your lips as your stomach grumbles.

There's a tugging sensation and your heart skips a beat. Your soul swirls into existence a few centimetres above your chest, giving off faint wisps of grey which hover around the cartoon-style heart. As always, your eyes fixate on it with fascination. "Why does it look like that?" you ask Flowey, barely glancing in his direction before you're drawn back to the sight of your soul. "Does every soul look this way? How's it possible to manifest a soul?"

He considers you for a long moment as you look at him eagerly. "Does death really…not bother you?"

You shrug. "Not really? I mean, I've died a lot of times. The soul trick hurts more than I'm used to, but I'm good at adapting to pain. It even feels kind of nice sometimes, y'know?" At his disturbed look you add, "I don't feel things all the much now. Pain is…reliable." You shift your hand through the smoky wisps, fingers almost touching your soul, but not quite. You can't feel anything except the faint heat the soul gives off.

There's a heavy sigh. "I don't know why it looks like that." He indicates your soul with one of his leaves. "It just does. Not every monster can create a physical representation of a soul, and even when they do it's…a part of them. Not separate like humans' are."

"Why've I never seen it before?" you ask, pleasantly surprised he's actually answering your questions. Maybe he's as bored with the threaten-kill-repeat routine as you are.

He scoffs. "Magic, of course. You humans barely have any of it on the surface, but the underground is flooded with the stuff. That's why I'm able to draw your soul out. You're a lot easier to hurt this way."

You tilt your head at the vague explanation, but before you can open your mouth he starts up again, glowering down at you. "Why would Chara keep bringing you back? And why now? What changed?"

"No idea. I've never met this Chara person. Why don't you ask them?"

Flowey shudders before smiling sardonically. "Yeah, I'll just go right up to them and ask! There's no way that wouldn't end well!"

"What's the worst they would do?" You cautiously brush the side of the heart, jolting at the odd sensation of touching your soul. A rush of heat flashes through you and you shiver. Vulnerable. That's how it makes you feel. It would bother you if you weren't so unused to it. Anything new is good in your books. "Hurt you? Kill you? It's not like it's permanent."

"You're a bit of a freak, aren't you?" he says, sounding perturbed.

You laugh, grinning up at Flowey. "Sure am!" You're relatively certain you lost whatever sanity you had decades ago. You think that should bother you. It doesn't. You're too tired to be bothered by much these days.

He rolls his eyes and starts to sink into the ground. "Go ahead then; see if you have better luck than me in getting answers out of Chara." He smiles sharply at you. "I'll see you soon!"

"Bye!" You give a cheery wave before he disappears from sight. That went well. You hop up onto your feet and make for the exit, the heart fading rapidly as you do so. You guess it must be dependent on monsters bringing it out? That's kind of annoying. You'd like to be able to pull it out yourself and figure it out, gain a better understanding of how it works.

But, priorities. The first thing on your to-do list is finding Chara. If the Underground is big enough to have a name then it might not be all that easy. You wonder if they're a human – from what Flowey said it sounded like they were. Maybe they're one of the missing kids. Though, if they've been looping like you do you can't exactly call them a kid, can you? And they're actually able to control it.

You smile flatly; that's a handy ability to have.

You pause in the archway to the next room. There's another set of pillars on either side of the exit, with the same marking carved above it. The walls are smoother than the rough rock of previous rooms. There's no natural light here; instead the glow of purple stones disrupt the dark, dotted along the ceiling of the cave.

"Woah," you breathe, impressed. Was there a whole civilisation of monsters like Flowey down here, or something? You're very glad you didn't die on impact, and hope that this isn't all some coma dream, or that you've just gone insane and started hallucinating this place.

(For a long time you thought that was what the loops were. Then you thought you were dead and this was your Hell. You didn't cope well with that thought.

You got over it.)

You take an exaggerated step forward into the unknown. "No time like the present," you say with a grin.

* * *

I cannot stop writing this arghhh.

So, yeah, Reader is far from my sanest OC. I'm still debating on what their name will be - it's kind of a tie between Reese and Mal. Suggestions would be cool, too.

Let me know what you think, especially if anyone is ever OOC.

Thanks.


	3. Chapter 3

Warnings: Mild violence, mentions of suicide

* * *

It's a good job you like the colour purple, because this place is completely awash with it. You're unsure if the walls and bricked footpath are actually coloured that way, or if it's caused by the crystals overhead. You twist your hand in front of your face and smile at the strange shade it's turned. Your sweater isn't much better, barely holding onto its green, whilst your jeans are fully purple. It's a cool effect.

The Underground doesn't look abandoned, that's for sure. There's no dust or thick cobwebs, or anything that you might expect to see in a place full of crumbling pillars and cracked walls. Maybe there's someone cleaning it up? Or it could just be that magic or whatever helps keep the place tidy. What do you know - you only found out magic was even a thing a few minutes ago.

(You'd suspected, though. Loops aren't exactly natural now are they? But hell, how were you supposed to do any research on them or find an answer in a world that dismissed magic, that would call you crazy – _had_ called you crazy – if you even tried)

You jog up a staircase and into another room (is this place just a long series of interconnected rooms?). It's small, only a few metres across with a door opposite you, a lever on the wall beside it, and several spaced out tiles on the floor to the right. You peer at them curiously as you walk over to the door, first lightly pushing it then shoving with all your strength. It doesn't budge.

With a huff you take a step back, your face flushed. Getting stuck here isn't exactly ideal. If you had a crow bar or _something_ you'd try wrenching open the doors that way, but the room is bare. You'd assume the door was locked if not for the lack of key hole, and if it was a magic lock then you were screwed either way.

You pause and look over at the stone tiles, then to the lever. Back to the tiles. A grin breaks across your face. _"Nooooo,"_ you say, as incredulous as you are delighted. You bounce over to the tiles and step on them all before pulling the lever.

Nothing happens. You pout. Not one to give up right away you try pressing only some of the tiles, attempting a few different combinations until, upon tugging the lever, there's a click. With the heavy sound of stone scraping against stone the door slides open. You stare at it for a moment before breaking into laughter.

A puzzle for opening doors? This is _brilliant._ Puts some holes in your 'not coma-dream or hallucinations' theory but who cares? First a talking flower, then your own soul shows up for the party, and now you're substituting good old door knobs for stomping on tiles! You gasp for breath through your snickering. Today just keeps getting better and better!

You're just stepping into the next area when you come face to face (well, chest thanks to their height) with a very surprised monster. You gawk at them. They're covered in soft-looking white fur, and remind you of a goat with their floppy ears, muzzle and small horns. The fact that they're standing perfectly upright – even _elegantly_ – rather gives the game away on their non-animal nature. The purple dress helps, too. And hey, is that the same symbol as the one you keep seeing above doorways?

When you look at their red eyes again they seem to be in as much shock as you are, if you're any good at reading bipedal goats' expressions. Then wariness flashes across their face and you're suddenly very aware of the fangs in their mouth.

"Aren't goats herbivores?" you blurt out before you can register the words coming out of your mouth. At least the goat monster doesn't look quite as ready to kick your ass, instead seeming kind of bewildered. You tend to have that effect.

"I-I, um, I beg your pardon?" they say. You think they might be a she, going by the style of dress and the pitch of their voice. You shrug inwardly. If you're wrong you can always correct yourself later.

"Never mind." You smile sheepishly. "I don't suppose you know a Chara?"

Pain, then hostility twists her gentle features into a glare. Her hands come up and flames gather in her palms as she takes up a defensive stance. "How do you- no, it does not matter. What business does a human have in the underground?"

You take a step back as heat from the conjured fire washes over you, eyebrows raised. "I fell down a hole – which, really, someone should see about patching up. Talk about a safety hazard, huh? Business-wise I'm looking for Chara. It's kiiiind of important so if you can't help me I'll just be on my way-"

You start to move forwards, hoping to edge around the angry goat lady, when a stream of fire cuts you off. You jump back and wince, your right hand having been caught in the flames. The skin is an angry red and beside the spike of pain you can barely feel it anymore. You quickly pat down the singed ends of your sleeve to stop the fire spreading.

Oh, jeez. You hate getting injured – it's always so annoying to deal with, wasting weeks or months in hospital as you slowly heal. And you doubt there's many hospitals down here.

You give goat lady an irritated look. "Did you _have_ to do that? I like that hand. It's my favourite hand. I write with it and everything." Well, you can actually write with both thanks to the power of boredom, but you did prefer your right. Now it was all smoulder-y. God damn it goat lady.

"You will not step any further into the underground," she says firmly. There's a familiar tugging sensation and your soul makes an appearance. You ache to just stare at it but, with visible effort, you keep your eyes on the monster. Her expression only seems to harshen when she sees your soul. "Humans have caused monsters enough pain. I will not allow any more."

You consider your options, glancing at your ruined hand. You can't even twitch the fingers. You brace yourself and move forwards.

The fire in her hands turns white in its intensity, and you barely have time to sigh resignedly before you're engulfed. Burning to death is far from your preferred way to die, but at least this fire is so hot you die quickly. Silver linings, and all that.

* * *

You wake up.

"That went well," you mutter as you sit up, once again crushing golden flowers beneath your body. You really should make it up to them somehow. Grab them a bag of fertiliser or something like that.

"It sure did!"

You look over and spot Flowey a few feet away, saccharine smile fixed in place. "You were watching?" you ask, cocking an eyebrow as you automatically grab your cell from the ground and put it in your pocket. You've done it enough times you don't even need to look.

"Yup!" he confirms, before giggling. "Boy, I didn't think Toriel would hurt you like that. She's one of the nicest monsters down here, after all. Just goes to show how annoying you are!"

"I'm not _that_ bad," you grumble, crossing your arms and pouting at the flower. You're kind of put out that you barely made any progress before being sent back here, but the giddy feeling in your chest still hasn't dampened.

You haven't had this much fun is such a long time. For the past few dozen loops you've just closed your eyes and tried to forget it all existed, that _you_ existed. Now, though. Now you actually want to be awake.

"What're you grinning about?" Flowey asks, aggravated. Then he smirks. "Oh, never mind, you've always got that dumb look on your face. I guess it's just stuck that way."

You gasp and draw back, expression devastated. "I'm hurt! How could you say such a thing?! That gets me, right here." You tap the place above your heart.

He looks reluctantly amused. "You really are an idiot."

"So I've heard." You push yourself to your feet, shaking out your hands until the unpleasant tingling sensation fades. "Time for round two."

"Good luck," Flowey says sarcastically. "I'm sure it'll go just as well as the first go!"

You give him a thumbs up. "Thanks for all your support. Don't know what I'd do without you."

He shifts uncomfortably, stem bending away as his leaves shuffle slightly. "Whatever. Try not to mess it up again. Avoid mentioning Chara and don't act like such a freak."

You blink in surprise. Was he actually attempting to help you? Before you can say anything he hurriedly sinks into the ground. "I'll try not to disappoint," you say amusedly to the air. You wonder if he can hear you or if he's gone off somewhere else, moving through the dirt. That's a handy ability.

Arms folded behind you, you head off once more down the path. You're not as hungry as you were before you died, which is a plus. Unfortunately your tongue is as dry as a desert, a detail you'd ignored in favour of your grumbling stomach. You pull a face. Bringing along a bottle of water hadn't exactly been high on your priorities when you'd wandered out here. The benefits of hindsight, huh?

When you spot the tile puzzle you mood improves, a grin pulling at your lips as you dart over to it. You pause beside the lever and wonder if Toriel will be on the other side again, ready to fry you. But it's much earlier in the day now since you didn't spend so long sitting around on the flower bed or talking with Flowey, so it should be clear.

Either way, when you pull the lever and the door opens, you cautiously poke your head through. This room is more of a long corridor veering to the right, a faint pathway trailing through the centre. Vines sprout from cracks in the bricked walls, making you wonder how they survive down here in the dark. Do they manage with just the crystals somehow, or could they be magical?

Still, no goat ladies in sight. Mission is good to go.

There's a bridge crossing a stream of water running from one grate to another across the corridor. You brighten and hurry over, crouching beside it. You consider for a moment whether the water might be dirty or otherwise bad for you, before shrugging. It's not like dying is that big a deal. If you get sick, well, there's at least two people down here who've killed you before, and you still have the switchblade in your pocket. Having options is nice.

The water tastes…odd. Not _bad_ odd, just different from what you're used to. Like the difference between tap water and the filtered stuff. You keep drinking until you're no longer thirsty, a satisfied smile crossing your face. Well, that's one issue taken care of.

You've just crossed the small wooden bridge when a monster darts in front of you. It looked a lot like a frog, albeit one the size of a large dog. You stumble back a step in surprise at its sudden appearance. It's practically vibrating in place, shifting around on webbed feet and tearing glances over its shoulder when it isn't staring unerringly at you.

"Uh-" you start, when your soul jolts from your body. If possible, the monster looks even more uneasy. White flies appear in the air around it, buzzing loudly. They remind you of the bullets Flowey shot at you, and it isn't much of an intellectual leap to guess this monster is about as friendly as the ones you've met previously.

Your shoulders slump. Why do monsters always want to attack you? Do you just have that kind of face?

You let out a yelp when the swarm of flies careen towards you, throwing yourself out of the way just in time. You stumble to a stop when you find yourself moving further than you thought – it's like your body is suddenly a lot lighter and easier to move. Glancing at your soul, you assume it's some side effect of having it out in the open. Nice that your soul is more than just a major weak spot.

When the flies go a few metres away they dissolve. You guess that they're made from magic and, as you've quickly discovered, magic hurts.

"Can we-" You duck under the next volley. You nearly trip over your own feet, and you grit your teeth. This newfound lightness will take some getting used to. "-talk-" Hasty sidestep that turns into a half-spin. "-about this?!"

You don't know if the monster can actually understand you since it hasn't said anything, but it's worth a try.

The monster isn't interested.

It's a bit closer to you now - you don't have enough time to move out of the way of the oncoming swarm. You frantically jump back only to step on air. Your eyes go wide as you tip backwards, the rush of water filling your ears. Something hits your head and there's a sharp _crack!_

* * *

You wake up.

You shoot upright, rubbing the back of your head with a grimace. You must've fallen in the stream and whacked your head against the edge. Cheeks turning red, you smile ruefully. Not your best moment.

"That was embarrassing. I'm embarrassed for you."

You look up from under your fringe to see Flowey once again in front of you. "Hey there, Flowey. What've you been up to?"

"Questioning what I ever did to deserve this."

* * *

Yup. I had Toriel kill Reader (that "Reader dies a lot" tag is deserved darn it). Figure I should explain a bit in case it wasn't obvious. Reader isn't a child and is acting pretty suspicious, and the last time Toriel saw an adult human would've been during the war, so not happy memories. She gives them a chance to back down and they don't. In addition to that is their soul (which will be explained next chapter).

I added the "soul makes you lighter" mechanic because I want to write some fun fight scenes. No idea how they'll go down, but hey I'll give it my best shot.

I don't know if I'll ever describe Reader's appearance fully in the story, so here it is for anyone interested: short dark hair (likely black) which is pretty messy, kind of wavy/curly. Grey eyes with thick eyelashes. Dimples. Slight buckteeth. A small scar on the bridge of their nose from one of the tree-fall incidents. I never really decided on skin colour, though I suppose I imagine it to be a darker shade, with them being either Hispanic or Korean (yes I know the two are very different, this is what I mean by "I never really decided").

Still unsure about the name (debating between Avery, Mal and Reese still), suggestion be awesome and helpful!

Hope you like this chapter, I'd love to hear what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

"I mean really, a froggit? A _froggit?_ I can understand Toriel, but you somehow got taken down by one of the weakest monsters out there! And it didn't even really kill you – you managed that all by yourself! Just how stupid are you?!"

You watch Flowey rant with your eyebrows raised. It's quite fun to watch as he sways back and forth in vexation, leaves flinging around to punctuate his words.

"Why didn't you fight back? In this world it's kill or be killed! I thought you would've gotten that after _dying_ so many times!"

"I'm not a fan of killing," you say with a shrug.

He stares at you. "Not a…not a _fan of killing._ What's that supposed to mean?! If you don't fight you'll just die and die and die – there's no choice about it!"

You scratch your cheek. "I'll just dodge better next time."

"That's not the point!" he yells. He surges towards you and your soul is tugged out. Jabbing a leaf at it, he says, "You've killed before, otherwise your LV wouldn't be so high. So why do you have such a problem with killing down here?" His face scrunches up distastefully. "Oh, let me guess; you _regret_ it."

You give a short laugh. "Don't get me wrong here. I'm not a good person. I don't have strong enough morals to hold me back, or anything like that. So yeah, I killed people." Your family, your friends – you'd killed them all at some point or another over the loops. All for the sake of something new to do.

Leaning towards Flowey, you continue with a lopsided grin, "And you know what I learned? _It doesn't help._ It doesn't fix things or make everything better. All it does is…make things quiet. And I don't know about you, but I've had more than enough silence to last me a life time."

He's quiet for a few moments, face blank for once. "I…it doesn't matter," he says softly, adding more firmly, "You're not gonna get through the Underground without hurting _someone._ That's just the way it is."

"No can do." You shake your head.

He grits his teeth. "Fine. Fine! Get yourself killed as much as you want, I don't care! Just try to make it a little further than two rooms, okay? Think you can handle that?"

You suck in a breath. "Oooh, I don't know. You might be setting the bar a bit high."

He looks at you darkly. "You're infuriating."

"I'm adorable," you tell him with a straight face.

He snorts. You give a pleased smile before standing up. "Well I'd best be going if I want to avoid Toriel."

Frowning uncertainly, he hesitates. "I'll come with you." At your surprised expression he frowns, opening his mouth several times before finally saying, "The last few runs were…bad. I don't really want- I mean, you shouldn't-" Growling in exasperation he glares up at you. "Stop giving me that look. I'd just be following you anyway; I might as well get a lift."

"That's fine with me." You grin.

"Stop that," he grumbles as he starts to remove his roots from the ground. You crouch down next to him when he orders to you, amusement all but radiating from you. He dutifully ignores that.

"Chara should be near the exit to the Ruins, if they haven't already left," he says as he settles himself on your shoulder, vines twisting around your upper arm and neck. It's a bit uncomfortable and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. On the bright side, he makes a great parrot to your pirate captain!

You tell him so. He stares at you disdainfully. " _Anyway,_ this is the first time in a while that they've stayed long enough for you to show up. Usually they just get fed up trying to get past Sans and end up resetting, so we need to hurry."

You salute. "Got it, boss." You take off at a manageable jog ( _thank you,_ years of cross country) through the Ruins, snickering at the way Flowey yelps and starts shrieking insults at you.

As you move through the long room you met your demise in last time, noticing the piles of dust showing up every now and again.

When you ask Flowey about it he shifts uncomfortably. "Chara…isn't very happy about being trapped here. They don't always kill every monster. Sometimes they even…" he shakes his head. "I haven't seen them this angry in a long time."

"Why are they angry?" you ask, carefully crossing the bridge and keeping an eye out for hostile froggits. There don't seem to be any around.

"Sans isn't following script anymore. He's supposed to wait until the Judgement Hall to do anything," Flowey says, sounding almost petulant. "But now he's fighting Chara the second they go outside the Ruins! I think…I think he _remembers."_ You glance up at his expression of incredulity as you near the end of the corridor, stepping around more dust. "Not just dumb theories and recordings of timelines – he actually _knows_ what Chara did. That's never happened before."

"What Chara did?" you repeat.

Flowey looks down at you. "Right, you wouldn't know, seeing as you somehow manage to keep getting yourself killed," he says snidely. You smile at him. He must be getting used to you since it barely seems to irritate him. "Chara wants to destroy everything, over and over and over again. They usually succeed, too. Up until the lazy trashbag stopped being so lazy, anyway."

You raise an eyebrow. "They're pretty ambitious, huh?"

He gives a choked laugh. "That's one way to look at it."

The hallway curves to the right, and there's piles of red leaves across from you. To your left is an archway. You start towards it when Flowey tugs roughly on your hair in the opposite direction. "It's this way, idiot."

You pull the short strands of your hair out of the grip of his vines. "I respond just as well to verbal cues, y'know."

"My way is much more fun," he jeers.

"Whatever floats your boat." You shrug, nearly toppling Flowey from your shoulder. His vines tighten around your neck and arm, and he sends you a scornful glare. He does, however, begrudgingly tell you where to go in words as he guides you through the Ruins. _Gooood_ tour guide.

"So I'm assuming not many pe- monsters remember the resets?" you say to fill the silence, glancing at Flowey. He looks unnerved, gaze flickering around the corridor ahead and occasionally behind you. At your voice he seems to relax a little.

"Only Chara and I did in the beginning – well, and Frisk," he amends. "Since I used to be able to reset I always remembered." He frowns. "That's why I don't get how Sans and you can. You used to reset on the surface, right?" You nod. "And you remembered every time?"

You smile brightly and tap the side of your head. "Yep! It's all up here." You chuckle. "Wow, I wonder what age I am if you counted all the time spent in the loops? I'd be so _old."_

He peers at you. "How old _are_ you? You're not a kid like Chara or Frisk."

"I'm-" You stop, grin faltering. You don't…actually remember your biological age. It hasn't really been something you thought about after your first few loops. You were still in high school so you were probably under twenty, and you think you were in the later stages – when was the last time you went to school anyway? – so you were over sixteen. Glancing down at your body, you think you look over that age at least.

"Eighteen," you say decisively, going for a happy medium. "I'm eighteen. So I'm like a baby adult; utterly unprepared for the world."

He snorts. "You were utterly unprepared for the Underground, anyway. Remind me, just how many times have you died so far?" he asks snidely.

You count it up in your head. "Welll you killed me…six times, I think. Then Toriel toasted me, and that froggit got me last time. So eight times."

"Pathetic." He shakes his head, petals brushing against your ear. "Frisk was nowhere near as bad as you, and Chara…Chara never has much problem with monsters. Until now, at least."

The hallway opens up into a room with a row of spikes blocking the exit. You beam at the sight of another puzzle, rushing over to it despite Flowey's protests. There's three tiles on the floor, but when you step on them all nothing happens. You even try a different patterns like the last one. No discernible effect.

Flowey huffs, "I can just tell you-"

"Nope!" you say firmly, covering his mouth with your hand. It's a bit weird considering he doesn't have lips, but it seems to do the trick of shutting him up. His eyes are rather wide as you lean towards him with a dark look in your grey eyes. "You do not spoil puzzles. It is not a thing you do. Respect that."

He wrenches himself back. "Freak," he spits with half as much malice as when he'd been murdering you. Still, he keeps quiet, so you're happy.

You skip over to the first tile and consider the large rock sitting next to it. There's one beside each tile, actually. Bit simple, but you like it all the same. You shove the first two rocks onto the plates with no problem. However the last takes issue with your pushiness.

"Woah there, pardner!" it exclaims. "Who said you could push me around?"

You stare wide-eyed at the talking rock. You take a moment to internally squeal over how amazing the Underground is, before you say calmly, "Terribly sorry about that. Would you mind moving over to that tile?"

"Oh, _now_ you're askin' me to move over!" says the sassy rock.

"For the love of-"

"Sorry, again, uh," you cut Flowey off, giving the rock a placating smile as you rub the back of your neck. "I didn't know you were alive. The other ones weren't, so…" You duck your head. "I'd be very grateful if you moved onto the tile, just until I cross the spikes."

There's a long pause before the rock says, "Okay, just for you, pumpkin." It starts its slow journey to the tile, scraping along the floor.

You beam at Flowey, stars in your eyes, and whisper-yell, _"A talking rock just called me pumpkin!"_

Flowey looks at you blankly for several long moments. He presses a leaf to his face. "This is karma, isn't it. I'm being punished for all the times I killed everyone. Sans probably sent you to avenge his brother, or something dumb like that. Ha ha, jokes on him – soon _he'll_ have to deal with you."

You're about to reply, when the spikes retract into the ground with a loud _shnickt!_

"Thanks!" You wave to the rock as you hurry over the spikes, not too keen on possible getting caught by them. Being impaled by sharp objects _hurts,_ and you're willing to bet that metal spikes would be even worse than Lego.

It's only when you're over them that you realise, with a bit of a running start, you could probably have jumped over them. Oh well. This way is more fun.

You keep heading down more long hallways which twist and turn, Flowey's directions keeping you from wandering off. You're tempted to do so anyway, especially when you spot what looks like another puzzle, but you resolutely stay on course. Finding Chara and getting some answers is what's important right now. You can always come back after, right?

"What happens after I die? You said the resets were pretty bad," you prompt Flowey as you trudge through piles of leaves, following the strict path he laid out so you don't fall through the floor (you make a mental note to visit later without your grumpy companion). It's odd to think that everything doesn't just loop when you die, instead continuing on. You feel delightfully irrelevant.

"Your soul disappears. Chara kills everything," he states. "Nothing exciting."

"That all?" You raise an eyebrow at the suddenly quiet monster.

He's staring straight ahead, leaves shaking slightly. "I…Chara- Chara's been more-" he winces "-creative than usual. It's all Sans' fault!" he snarls. "If he'd just let Chara do what they _want,_ then they'd leave- they wouldn't-!" Cutting himself off with a huff, he glares at you. "What do you care? You'll find out soon enough what they're like."

You study him for a few seconds, watching as he grows nervous under your gaze. Then you smile at him reassuringly. "I like you, so I won't let Chara hurt you, okay?"

He gapes at you. "Wh-what?! You can't just go and- go and make promises like that!" he blusters.

"Why not?"

"Be-because!" He refuses to meet your eyes, twisting away. "It's not like you'd be able to do anything. You're too weak."

You shrug. "We'll see. It wouldn't hurt to believe in me a little, would it?"

You walk along in silence for several minutes before you hear a soft, "Idiot." You grin.

Abruptly, you're brought to a halt when the world shudders. Your movements slow, the air weighing down on your limbs so that you can hardly move. A buzzing fills your eyes, growing higher in pitch with each moment that passes.

You stare with wide eyes as the path ahead starts to dissolve beneath the encroaching darkness. It swallows up everything, leaving only inky blackness in its wake as it races towards the two of you.

"Already?" Flowey says dully.

You turn to him with a half-formed question on your lips. "What-"

* * *

You wake u-

You wake-

You wa-

You-

Y _o_ u **w** _a_ k **e** u _p_

* * *

A/N: So. Much. Dialogue. As always, let me know if Flowey seems too OOC (some of it is expected since this is pretty much and AU now, but I'd rather stick to canon with characterisation).

It was at this point that I realised I have very little control over Reader's actions. Seriously, I'm trying for a more sombre mood and they're like NOPE SASSY ROCK.

Thanks for the reviews, and I'll try to reply as soon as I can. It really encourages me to keep writing (even if I wasn't currently completely swallowed up by this story. Christ, I've plotted out the ENDING already).

Next chapter we actual get some more plot that "Reader falls into Underground". Soon as I've finished the chapter after I'll post it.


	5. Chapter 5

Warnings: more suicidal stuff, self-mutilation, Reader is not a nice person (but at least they finally get a name)

* * *

For a moment you think your eyes are closed. But when you bring your hands up in front of your face you can see them, even if all colour has drained from your skin and clothes. Looking down at your body you see that it's in stark black and white, any shades in-between erased.

Everything else – anything not you – is a pure, endless black.

Your heartbeat picks up as your hands start to tremble. You can't feel the ground beneath your feet even if you seem to be standing – you think you're standing. The scent of flowers and dirt is gone, leaving nothing in its wake. You can't feel air shift against your skin as you move, twisting your body this way and that in a frantic attempt to find anything interrupting the darkness. There's no sound except your harsh breathing.

It's so quiet.

You feel a giddy smile breaking across your face. After years spent in the loops, you're overwhelmed by so many new – different – things. You don't know what's happening but it doesn't matter. You can figure it out.

(You barely notice the way you're humming to yourself, the lilting tune stumbling through familiar songs)

A distorted voice causes you to flinch, hands darting up to protect your ears at the piercing sensation. The sound is garbled and barely illegible as actual words, but somehow the meaning is conveyed.

" _You shouldn't be here."_

You look around in an attempt to find the source. Nothing. You're alone.

" _You are an anomaly. A glitch in an already imperfect system. How much more can the code be disturbed before this universe is corrupted entirely?"_

You pull your lips into a lopsided grin. "The name-calling is a bit immature, isn't it?" Your voice echoes oddly in the empty space, louder than you intended. It doesn't sound like you – like hearing a recording of your voice. "Have some _manners._ Why don't you introduce yourself?"

A long pause. Then, as if they'd always been there, a person – no, a monster – forms before you. Just like you he's entirely black and white. A white face peers down at you, marred by black eyes and a slash of a mouth. It looks a lot like a mask; flat and smooth, with a thick black crack trailing down from the left eye to his mouth, and another from the drooping right eye up his forehead. He's much taller than you, draped in a black coat which barely distinguishes itself from the darkness surrounding the two of you, the white turtleneck beneath standing out in sharp contrast.

" _Introduce…myself?"_

You get the impression that he's amused, even though nothing about his face changes. It's similar to how you know he's male, that he's not a danger (yet), and how even though you're sure you shouldn't be able to understand what he's saying, you can. It confuses you, but you figure the only thing you can really do is go with it. A lot of things over the past day or so have confused you. What's one more?

"It's only polite. Here, I'll go first." You have to think for a moment. You tend to change your name every few loops just to insert a bit of variation, introducing yourself to strangers as someone new each time. It's not like who you are really matters all that much. No one will remember you. "I'm Avery," you decide on. You once got a tattoo from a guy named Avery, he was pretty nice. Too bad the tattoo didn't last through loops.

You hold your hand out expectantly. The pinpricks of light in his eyes shift to it, before he slowly extends his own hand. You notice the hole cut out of his palm and feel the empty space as his hand wraps around yours, squeezing briefly and falling away.

It's…surprisingly normal. A handshake with a monster in an endless void.

" _I am Doctor W. D. Gaster."_

"Nice to meet you, Doctor Gaster," you say cheerily.

He starts, the white parts of his eyes growing slightly larger. _"It has been…a long time since someone said my name."_

You blink. "Oh, well. It's a very nice name. Unique. I've never met a Gaster before. So, uh, where are we?"

" _Nowhere. We are outside of time and space, barely hanging on by a thread to the mere notion of existence. You are more successful in doing so than I,"_ he adds, somewhat ruefully.

"Well, you know, existing is just one of my many skills," you boast absentmindedly. Outside of time and space? That…didn't sound healthy. You may not have the best relationship with time, but even the loops are better than this emptiness. "How do I leave? I'm sure you're great, but I kind of need to be getting back. Places to go, people to interrogate."

He seems to shrug. _"It is likely that you will return once the world has reset."_

"Ah." You scratch the side of your head. So this is what happens when Chara resets without you dying first. It's a bit unnerving, you have to admit. You don't feel real here without an environment to measure yourself against. The vast nothingness doesn't do much to improve your mood.

You focus on the monster standing in front of you. "How'd you end up here?"

" _I did something foolish. This is the price I must pay."_

"Okay. That was vague. But, whatever, I'll respect your privacy. Can you tell me what you meant with the whole "anomaly" business?"

" _You should not exist as part of this world. You are the result of the fallen child playing with forces they do not understand,"_ he explains, aggravation lacing his voice. _"If they continue, the damage will be…irreparable. Already, too much stress has been placed on the timeline. It has become so unstable that your "loops" were created and, when you intersected with the fallen child's resets, you became a part of this world. You reduced my presence to what would be, to you, the present and the past. The future is…uncertain."_

You barely hear him.

Chara caused the loops. Chara made you to live and die and live and die and live and die on endless repeat, some sick joke which never reached the punchline. Chara is the reason you were stuck in an unchanging purgatory, reduced to hiding in your room and wishing you didn't exist, _begging_ for it to just _stop_.

Your fists clench. Well then. You might be breaking your "no killing" tendency soon enough. You can stretch it out, can't you? You're good at killing, even if it has been a while. You can make it _hurt._

" _If you kill them, they will just reverse time so that it never occurred."_

"Oh, I don't know," you say softly, mouth twitching into a broad grin. "It's worth a try. Or two. I've got all of eternity to find out, right?"

He shakes his head. _"You won't remember this when you wake up."_

"What?!" you exclaim, smile dropping. "I can't just- I can't just _forget."_

" _You don't have a choice."_

"No! I refuse, damn it!" you snarl, lunging towards the monster and wrenching him down so that his wide eyes are on level with your own. "I finally have the answers I've been searching for _centuries_ for – you really think I'm going to give that up?" Hysterical laughter escapes you. "No. _No._ I'll remember, I'll remember everything, just like I always do. You could say remembering is my very own superpower!"

You let go and take a step back, pressing your hands roughly to your face. "This is a change. New, different. I can't forget it. I won't. You won't take it from me, I won't let you." You glare at him as he watches you cautiously. "You hear me? _I won't let you."_

Your soul pulses. It appears in front of your chest, the grey startling in this black and white world. It thrums with your resolution. A broken smile stretches across your face as it fades from sight.

It's okay. Everything will be okay.

" _The power of determination always has…interesting effects."_ Abruptly, Gaster straightens. _"It may be enough to prevent corruption. If you do remember, you need to take the fallen child to the Determination Extraction Machine within Alphys's lab,"_ he says urgently. _"Killing them is pointless, but if you manage this then there is chance that the timeline can be saved."_

"Determination. That's…how Chara is able to reset, right?" It isn't hard to guess what the machine does.

If Chara can't reset, then you'll actually be able to die. Relief surges through you and you slump with the force of it. You'll finally be able to end it. No more endless days. It can stop.

He's quiet for a long moment. _"Theoretically, yes. Only beings with determination can alter time."_

"Okay," you breathe. "Okay." You push your sleeve up, then you reach into your pocket and pull out your switchblade. The knife flips out smoothly and you press it to the skin on the back of your forearm. "Just in case."

" _What are you doing?"_ Gaster asks, alarmed.

"Insurance." You start to carve into your flesh, grunting at the initial flash of pain. _R._ You pause before adding slowly; _R. T. B. A._ The jagged words leak thick, black liquid down your arm. You just hope it sticks around.

You frown as you put away your knife and roll down your sleeve. _"Why_ wouldn't I remember, anyway?" You…probably should have asked that before mutilating yourself.

" _I do not exist, therefore you cannot form memories concerning me. I have been erased from reality,"_ he says flatly, the pinpricks of his eyes dulling.

"Oh." Your gaze falls on his crumpled turtleneck and you grimace sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Strong emotions – you know how it is."

The black stretch of his mouth widens humourlessly. _"Indeed."_ He looks at your feet. _"It seems you are leaving."_

Static is consuming your legs, crawling up your body and taking with it any sense of touch. You tense before forcing yourself to relax. This isn't anything to worry about, remember? You'd hope Gaster would say something if it was.

"Well." You smile at him. "This was definitely enlightening. Take care of yourself, Gaster. Hopefully I'll see you around."

Static envelops your vision.

"… _Goodbye."_

* * *

You wake up.

"Finally!" Flowey exclaims, blocking your view of the hole above in favour of his irate expression. "You were taking forever to wake up. We need to get a move on if we want to catch Chara before they reset again!"

"Right." You sit up, feeling disorientated. You guess that's what happens when Chara resets when you're still alive. Weird. "Let's go," you say as Flowey takes his position on your shoulder.

Your left arm stings faintly and you frown at it. You rub the skin through your sweater absently.

* * *

A/N: *Glares at chapter* This one was so hard to write, largely because I actually had to start plotting past a few chapters. So, basically everything may be subject to me going back and editing the shit out of it if I change my mind, just so you know.

One good thing about writing Gaster? *peers at all the fanon representations of the guy* It's pretty impossible to actually write an OOC version, if you take into account how different everyone writes him. He's more talkative than I was expecting him to be - gonna blame than on the whole, this is the first conversation he's had in a while where the other person can actually hear him, thing. Poor dude.

So, Reader finally got a name! I like the name Avery so I decided to just go with it, might change it later. And aww look, baby's first break down! (that we've seen, anyhow). It's gonna get worse before it gets better.

I've finished up the next chapter, and can I just say that writing Chara is hard as hell. And it went basically the opposite of how I imagined their meeting would go. God damn it Avery.

As always, I'd love to hear what you guys think! Especially since we're actually getting a bit of a plot now.


	6. Chapter 6

Warnings: Uhhh kind of child abuse? Does Chara count as a child? Mild violence directed towards a child, at least.

* * *

Turns out the spikes _are_ perfectly hurdle-able.

You kind of want to stick around for a chat with the sassy rock, but your objective (and an annoyed Flowey) keeps you on track. You keep up a manageable run all the way through the Ruins, leaving you panting by the time you reach a large courtyard.

There's a rather ominous black tree in the centre, all of its red leaves coating the ground around it. Flowey doesn't offer up any of his usual disdainful comments as you make you way around it, heading towards the house ahead. It's in much better condition than anything else in the Ruins. You wonder if this is where Toriel lived. Lives? You might not have run into her, but she could still be alive. In which case you hope she isn't home.

The door is wide open.

"Are you getting a horror movie vibe, or is it just me?" You turn a grin on Flowey, but he's resolutely looking straight ahead. His leaves are shaking minutely. Your smile falls slightly. "Right. Well, I think I can take it from here if you want to wait outside?"

He starts, visibly gathering himself. "No. I want- I want answers just as much as you do. It's better than doing nothing. Besides, you'd just end up getting lost, or tripping over air and killing yourself. You need me." Beneath his arrogant smirk he looks nervous, like he's expecting you to shove him off your shoulder.

Instead you beam. "Cool. Wandering into a perilous situation is always much more fun with a friend to share the terror!"

"You're such a weirdo." He shakes his head, a small, amused smile forming reluctantly on his face. You feel a sense of accomplishment.

The interior of the house is warm and cosy, a sharp contrast to the desolate Ruins, illuminated by soft, yellow lighting. There's a room on one side and a hallway in the other direction. To the left you can see smashed furniture and crumpled paper - ripped out of the books tumbling from the shelf - littering the floor. In front of you is a set of stairs leading down. "Where to?"

The sound of smashing glass interrupts whatever he's about to say. Your head snaps to the right and you head towards the noise, feeling Flowey's vines tighten around you. Standing at the end of the hallway is a small child, their fist buried in the shattered mirror before them, blood trickling down their arm.

(For a split second the blood runs black)

You step closer but they don't seem to notice you. Their head is bowed, brown hair falling messily over their face. They're wearing a blue and purple striped sweater and brown shorts, the clothing covered in dust. You idly wonder just how many monsters they had to kill to get that much dust on them.

"It's me," they're muttering, and you can see how they're glaring at what remains of their reflection. "It's still me. It's me-"

"Hello, Chara." Cold is rushing through your veins, twisting around your chest and pulling taunt. Your fingers curl into the skin of your palms. You smile emptily at the startled child. "I think it's time we had a chat."

"How-" Vibrant red eyes flicker across your face before focussing on Flowey, narrowing accusingly. "What did you _do,_ Asriel?"

Flowey stiffens, breaking through his fear to say indignantly, "M-me?! I didn't do anything! I thought it was you!"

(You are the result of the fallen child playing with forces they do not understand. If they continue, the damage-)

Chara scoffs, crossing their arms. "Why would I bring a _human_ into the Underground?" They give you are spiteful glance when they say 'human', but you barely notice.

"You're the only one who could've!"

There is static in your head.

"Well, I didn't. So why don't you tell me what you're doing here, human?" They smile brightly, pulling out a knife which sprinkles dust onto the ground.

When you don't say anything their face darkens, even as they maintain their wide grin. "I _said-"_

(your "loops" were created and, when you intersected with the fallen child's resets, you became a part of this world)

Chara's back slams into the wall and they grunt in pain. You hold them up there with a hand scrunched in their collar, pressing your arm against their throat, just loose enough that they can breathe. You snatch away their knife whilst they're still thrown off guard, and chuck it down the hallway. You hear it clatter against the floor.

"Hey, now," you say flatly. "There's no need for threats."

They struggle against your hold but you easily keep your grip. No matter what time powers they have, they're still a kid a lot younger than you are. Maybe ten years old at most. You hardly react to the fists hitting your body and the kicks to your thighs – it doesn't seem all that important at the moment.

Anger. You haven't felt anger like this in…a while. You don't fully know why it's all directed at this small child, but it's taking everything you have not to just wrap your fingers around their neck and _squeeze._

Odd. You weren't a particularly homicidal person, usually. You guess this place brought out the best in you.

Chara abruptly stops and hangs limply, glaring sullenly at you. You guess what they're about to do.

"Don't go resetting on me now. I won't be very happy with you."

They give a short laugh. "And _this_ is happy?"

You tilt you head. "Comparatively. I've had a very long day, you see. My breaking point could be just around the corner." You bare your teeth in a grin. "That wouldn't work out well for you. Take my word for it."

Chara's eyes widen slightly, but otherwise they don't react. Then they smirk. "Wow, that was _sooo_ scary. You really think you can intimidate me? _Me?"_

You shrug, twisting their collar tighter so that it bites into their neck. They wince and their breathing harshens, fingers scrabbling at your hand. "That's not my aim. I told you; I just want to chat. Can't have you resetting. Do you think you can manage that, Chara?"

They grit their teeth and glower at you. Finally, they nod.

Your lips pull into a large smile. "Great!" You drop them.

They land with a stumble, having to use the wall to keep balance. You walk over to the discarded knife and pick it up, looking it over curiously. At first glance it seems to be a toy knife, made out of harmless plastic. Upon a closer look you could see that the edge has been sharpened, making it a lethal weapon. You slip it into your pocket.

"Well?" Chara says demandingly, scowling up at you. "Are we going to 'chat' or not?"

You peer at them. "You're very impatient, aren't you?" You sit on the ground and look at them expectantly. "C'mon, then."

With a huff they join you, keeping a couple of metres between you. You hear a shaky breath and glance at Flowey. He's still on your shoulder, vines so tight they're painful. "You mind loosening up a bit there, Flowey?" you say warmly.

He jumps, frantic eyes meeting your own for several long seconds before he slowly relaxes his hold.

"Thanks." You turn back to Chara, meeting their hostile gaze. You flush and scratch your cheek. "Ah, sorry about that." You smile sheepishly. Threatening the one person who might give you answers? Not your brightest moment. Besides, hurting people isn't something you do, remember? You made a promise, even if it was only to yourself.

They stare at you incredulously. Then they shake their head. "Ignoring your obvious mental instability, why are you still here? I told you that I didn't do anything."

You hold up a finger. "The problem I have, is that I'm tied to your resets. It doesn't matter if you're as innocent as freshly driven snow in the matter. I'm still gonna be dragged through these loops along with you."

They gape. "You remember what happens in previous resets? But that's-"

"Impossible, yeah, I know." You quickly fill them in on the fact that you've been stuck in loops up on the surface, ignoring their disbelief.

"I've accepted-" you wave your hands around "-this. I'm having more fun that I've had in, well, decades. So I'm pretty chuffed all things considered. My problem is that you keep resetting and I can tell that's going to get annoying." You lean towards Chara with a sharp grin. "So why don't you stop that, huh?"

They rest their chin on their hand with a bored expression. "Can't. Loading doesn't help much with getting past Sans, so I keep trying to reset instead. Last time I almost avoided him too." They pout.

You straighten with a smile so wide your cheeks hurt. "There's _more_ to the Underground?!" Letting out a delighted laugh you jump to your feet. You think you heard Flowey mention something about that before, but you'd somehow managed to forget. "This I have to see!"

"Good luck with that," Chara calls lazily. You peer at them curiously as they continue, "Didn't you hear me? _I can't get past Sans."_

"Oh." You deflate in disappointment. If Chara couldn't get past this guy, then they would just keep resetting and tugging you back to the start with them. You're pretty sure they'd keep that ability no matter how much you hurt them, too, and if they've been resetting for half as long as you've been looping, then they can probably handle pain.

In that case, there's really only one solution.

You extend your hand to the sitting child, matching their confusion with a grin. "Let's go. You can show me around the rest of the Underground."

"Are you deaf or something?" they ask, eyebrows raised. "He's not gonna let me past just because I have a chaperone, you know."

"Who said I need his permission?"

A smirk breaks across Chara's face. "This should be interesting, at least." They grab your hand and let you pull them up. Their blood sticks to your palm.

"Where to?" you ask Flowey. He's looking at the both of you oddly, mouth a firm line. You hope he remembers your promise. You pat one of his vines and his expression shifts into resignation.

He nods towards the entranceway. "Down the stairs. There's a door to the rest of the Underground."

"Okay." You glance at Chara, who returns your gaze with an emotionless smile. "Anything you want to bring with you?"

They snicker, bringing a hand up to cover their mouth. "You sure are confident, aren't you? I think I'll be fine as I am."

"Suit yourself." You take off at a leisurely pace, no longer racing against the next reset. Chara skips along childishly at your side. Your brows furrow slightly. They're an odd kid, that's for sure. But you guess it's to be expected. You fall far short of normal yourself.

You're halfway down the stairs when Chara asks, "Do you at least have a weapon?"

You think of the switchblade in your pocket, and Chara's knife in the other. "I won't need one."

Chara stops short, then hurries to catch up when you keep going. "What's that supposed to mean?" they demand as you enter the basement – well, you think it's a basement. It's another long corridor at least, stretching ahead before turning off to the left. Bit big for one, then.

"I'm not really the violent type."

Chara breaks into laughter. "That's a joke, right?"

"Nope, one hundred percent serious."

You see their irritated face out of the corner of your eye. "You're going to die. You're going to die over and over again and I'm going to _laugh."_

"That's nice," you say absently. You think you hear Flowey snort faintly.

Finally you reach the doors. Engraved on them is the emblem you've seen previously in the Ruins and on Toriel's dress (You briefly wonder where she is. Then you realise that Chara likely killed her). You trace it with your finger.

"It's called the Delta Rune," Flowey explains softly. "It represents the Dreemurr royal family."

"You guys have royalty?"

He pauses, before saying angrily, "What does it matter? Let's just go."

"No, Asriel, why don't you tell us allll about the royal family?" Chara pipes up teasingly, twirling around to stand in front of you. "I bet the human is _super_ interested."

"No need to be a brat, Chara," you say, enjoying the outraged look that flashes across their face.

Before they can say anything in response you shove the doors open.

* * *

*Head desks* How do people write Chara so well? There's so little to work with - that bit at the end of a Genocide run (cold, inhuman destroyer) doesn't make for the most interesting characterisation, and all you know otherwise is "hates humans, not a good person, wanted to break barrier but now just wants to destroy everything". Still, hope you guys liked my rendition.

To clear up any confusion, Avery doesn't really remember what went on in the previous chapter. Those bits in brackets are kind of half-remembered snippets which influence their behaviour. Don't worry - it will eventually all come back.

Next chapter we meet Sans, who is kinda off from his canon self (allll shall be explained...eventually). Hopefully it doesn't disappoint :)


	7. Chapter 7

The first thing that registers is the cold. It sweeps in through the open doorway, sending a shudder down your spine. You step outside, snow crunching beneath your boots and Chara's trainers when they follow you. Rows of tall, dark trees line the path ahead of you, just as bereft of leaves as the one near Toriel's house, and they're so big you can't even guess where the woods go. You don't think you've ever seen any trees like this before.

Chara stomps over to a snow-covered bush. There's the sound of shattering glass and plastic. You blink and wander over to them, catching sight of the remnants of a camera on the ground. You tilt your head questioningly at Chara. What was with this kid and breaking stuff?

Chara grins. "I don't like being spied on."

Someone's spying on them? And you, too, by association. Why? Well, if Chara is the destructive force Flowey has led you to believe, you understand why people would want to keep an eye on them. Or maybe they're just big on surveillance around here.

You shrug. "Fair enough. So," you cast a glance around the seemingly desolate area. "Where's this Sans guy?"

The only warning you get is the appearance of your soul (your arm is burning). A bright blue laser blasts through the treeline towards you, a high-pitched whine rending the air. You leap back to avoid it, grateful for how easily it is to move with your soul outside of your body, even if it leaves you stumbling.

You catch sight of Chara doing the same. Well, similar. They only step slightly to the side, just enough to get out of the way; like they'd been expecting it. You suppose they had, going by the number of times they must've gone up against this guy. He must be good at fighting to force them back in the Ruins every time, especially since Chara would learn how to better avoid attacks each time. Then again, if he remembers too, he'd also improve. Or, at least know how to fight them better.

You examine the furrow carved into the ground, steam rising from it. The laser must've impacted the wall of the Ruins but there's barely a mark on it. That doesn't mean you fancy getting caught in the attack.

You eyebrows are raised high. Well. He certainly doesn't pull any punches.

Annoyance flickers across Chara's face before it shifts into a bright smile. "He must've been waiting for me." They giggle and call, "Come on out, Sans! Or are you just going to hide away? I can't say I'm surprised. Hiding is something you're good at, isn't that right?"

Flowey squirms on your shoulder. You crouch down and say, "Guessing you don't want to hang around for this, huh?"

He doesn't meet your gaze as he sinks into the snow and finds the dirt beneath. You lightly pat the petals on the top of his head, smiling when he looks up in surprise. "Hey, I wasn't expecting you to. I'm betting those lasers are gonna hurt like a bitch."

He grimaces. "They sure do. Um, good luck, I guess," he says, like the words are being pulled painfully from his mouth.

You can't help but laugh a little even as he gives you a scathing look. "Thanks. I'll try my best!"

You straighten up, finding Chara watching you with a blank expression. Then their eyes shift to somewhere behind you and their lips curl into a smirk. _"Finally."_

Oh. So he's right behind you. Awesome.

Thankfully he doesn't one-shot you before you have chance to turn around. You're hit with a sudden bout of familiarity as you examine the skeleton-like monster, which you shake off in confusion. You know you've never seen him before.

(You could say remembering is my super power)

He's skeleton-like in that he's not like any human skeleton you've seen. There's no separation for his jaw; instead his toothy grin seems permanently plastered to the smooth expanse of his skull. The wide, shocked shape of his eye sockets contradict the happy expression of his smile, and they don't seem set in place like a human skull. He's shorter than you by a good few inches, proportions stocky beneath the blue, fur-hooded jacket and black shorts. You smile a little when you spot the pink slippers on his feet. Interesting fashion choice.

Pinpricks of light watch you warily from within his black eye sockets. "Another human?" he says questioningly.

You wave. "That's me. Bona fide human here."

He snorts, seeming surprised. His grin stretches a little wider. "Making puns at a time like this? You've got quite the sense of comedic timing."

"Wha-" You blink. Then you let out a startled laugh. "Oh. _Oh._ Because you're a skeleton with bones and-" You push a hand back through your fringe before high-fiving yourself. "Good one, me. Didn't think you had it in you."

Why do monsters keep giving you weird looks? You're reasonably sure _you're_ the one who should be freaked out by all the sentient flowers, killer goat ladies, huge fly-spewing frogs, (non-existent doctor monsters), and animate skeletons!

Sans sighs. "Why don't you just step over to the side a bit?" He glares at Chara, the lights disappearing from his eyes. "Got something I need to take care of."

You're kind of tempted to do so – the guy is ridiculously good at being intimidating for a short skeleton in slippers. On the other hand you like the idea of getting to see more of the Underground, and you can't do that if Chara just keeps resetting after less than a day.

You know you're going to die this time. That's fine. It's not like you'll ever run out of lives.

"No can do," you say with a shrug. "For the time being you can consider me Chara's knight in shining armour."

"You're _protecting_ them?" he says incredulously, looking disgusted. "Look, I don't know what they told you but this isn't some innocent kid. They're just using you." He shudders, one hand coming up to grasp the red scarf tied around his neck. "They're a killer."

You absently wonder if Chara's kill count trumps your own. Scratching the back of your head, you realise you don't really know how many you _have_ killed. Your family at least a dozen times, most of the people in your school, random strangers you stumbled across…it's a good few, anyway.

"My hands aren't exactly clean either."

He looks you over, the bone where his eyebrows would be scrunching together.

You smile faintly. "Humans. Not monsters." You wonder if he even cares about the distinction. As far as you know monsters hate humans. Maybe monsters _want_ humans dead. They've certainly managed to off you a few times.

Eyes narrowing, he says, "Guess I can't let you pass either." That's a no, then. "Can't say I appreciate the extra work, but…" A bright blue light forms in his left eye. "Slacking off isn't an option anymore."

You stare in awe as a large, draconic skull forms in the air behind Sans. Its eye sockets glow the same pale blue as Sans's. Energy rapidly manifest within the open mouth brimming with jagged teeth, leaking out the sides in smoky swaths of blue. It's probably the first thing in the Underground you can truly label as 'monstrous'.

The laser blast catches you off guard, even if it really shouldn't have.

* * *

You wake up.

You're staring at a purple door with an emblem – the Delta Rune – carved into it. Blinking in surprise, you wonder why you're not back on the flower bed. Then, what just happened catches up with you.

"That went as well as I was-"

"That was AMAZING!" you gush, jumping on the spot with excitement. You just got laser blasted to death! _LASERS!_ Nothing like that has ever happened before, not even close. It gets the Number 1 Death spot without question! Sorry shark death, you really didn't stand a chance against _that_ amount of awesome. Oh, wow, you expected a tough fight from the guy, but nothing on this level!

Chara is gawking at you. "Why are you so happy? He just _killed_ you!" they exclaim, throwing their arms out.

"Yeah, but did you see how cool it was?"

"That's not the point!"

Confused, you frown at them. If that isn't the point, then what is? Your remaining giddiness quickly twists it into a grin though. You look at Flowey. "Did you see it? How brilliant was that?!"

He rolls his eyes. "Very." Then he pats your cheek condescendingly. "Maybe next time, last a bit longer?"

You chuckle awkwardly. Right. You were taken out in one hit – kind of pathetic. On the other hand, _laser._

"Oh!" You spin to face a glowering Chara. "How come I didn't wake up back with the flowers?"

"I created a save point here. There's no way you'd succeed when I failed, but it was entertaining to see just how badly you did." They smile sweetly. "Your attack and defence are basically non-existent, after all. Even a froggit could kill you!"

"Ha ha, yeah, even a froggit. Imagine that." You pointedly ignore Flowey's snickering. "Why are they so low? I thought I have a high LV, or something?"

"It's as high as it gets," Chara says grudgingly. "But attack and defence is dependent on intent. On determination. As far as I can tell, you don't have any at all!" they say cheerily.

"Guessing that's a bad thing."

"It means you're weak." Flowey sighs. "Killing a monster like Sans is impossible for you. You couldn't hurt a fly."

That strikes you as hilarious. You were the type of kid who pulled wings of flies, after all, before you got bored of it. "Then it's a good job I don't plan on killing him."

Flowey groans whilst Chara gives you a dubious look. " _Not_ kill him? Then how am I supposed to get past him?" they ask, hastily adding. "Not that I think you could even manage being a good distraction."

You consider their question for a moment. After you made your 'no killing' resolution, you'd still managed to get into fights over the years, often times with people stronger than you. Knocking someone unconscious never guaranteed that the injury would be non-lethal, so you'd had to find other methods (well, if you weren't keen on simply dying that loop) of ending a fight.

"Does using those lasers tire him out?" you ask.

* * *

Sans is already on the path ahead when you bounce outside, meeting your eager grin with a dull gaze.

"I'm just here for the kid," he says. "Don't get in my way."

"Didn't you hear me last time?" The notion that people now _remember_ the loops – resets – knocks you a little breathless. The things you do actually matter, now. People won't just forget what you say (scream). "I'm not gonna give up on my second try."

He frowns as much as he can with the permanent grin, shifting slightly. "It's gotten worse..?" he mutters, gaze drifting away before he refocuses on you and Chara.

They give him a wave before stepping to the side, making it clear just who he has to fight. You spot Flowey popping up near the treeline. You've got quite the audience. Neither of them think you'll last much longer than you did the previous go, but that's not the plan anyway. You want to wear him down. That kind of thing takes a while.

You crack your knuckles and grin. You've always loved a good challenge. "Let's get to it, shall we?"

* * *

Ohmygosh I had so much trouble with this chapter. Like, I desperately wanted to write Sans in character, but at the same time of course he's gonna be a bit out of character, he's got a shit tonne of timelines shoved into his skull! Oh, well. I hope I did okay.

Also, I can't do puns. My humour leans towards sarcastic comments and blunt statements. So when I genuinely ACCIDENTALLY made that "bona fide" pun I just had to include it. I figure Sans won't be doing much punning since he's, uh, not in the best of moods. Maybe later, if I can manage it.

Next chapter - I try my hand at writing fight scenes. It's gonna get messy.

Let me know what you think :D


	8. Chapter 8

Warnings: Stronger violence than usual (still not especially bad, though), swearing

* * *

You don't last very long.

A burst of triumph flashes through you when you manage to dodge the first laser blast. Unfortunately, you just walk into the path of another laser dragon's maw (he can make _more_ of those things?! Awesome!), and get eviscerated shortly after.

Chara laughs at you when your eyes open to see the familiar purple door. "Some knight in shining armour you are."

You shrug. It was only your second try, after all. You're vibrating a bit in excitement. You're doing terribly, sure, but at least you're having a great time!

This isn't like when Flowey kept killing you. You'd been keeping to a set few actions – he pretended to be harmless, you asked a couple of questions, he shot your soul.

This time it's all about the variation; how you can try to predict the way he'll attack. You'll both remember the past round but actions like fighting are ingrained in people. Set patterns and behaviours.

You grin viciously. You just need to figure out his pattern. You're good at that kind of thing.

"I'll do better next time."

"Of course," Chara says sweetly. You get the impression they don't have much faith in you.

This time, Sans seems resigned at your appearance. "You sure you wanna keep doing this?"

"Reasonably." You smile brightly. "I really want to build a snow man, after all!" The loops have never lasted long enough for winter to roll around, and you miss playing in the snow. You have a really good memory, so you can recall what it's like to dig your hands into the painfully cold snow, scooping up the perfect snowball and lugging it at your Dad. You were eleven, relishing in the cancellation of school. That was a good day.

Sans flinches back. You wonder why he looks so bothered. He killed you fine last time, so that can't be it. Then again he didn't look all that happy to begin with, which was odd for a guy who's constantly smiling. You'd read that even the act of smiling made people feel better. Maybe it just didn't work that way with monsters?

You face plant into the snow in order to avoid a laser fired your way. Lifting your head up, you wrinkle your nose and brush off the flakes covering your cheeks and forehead. That'll teach you to drift off into thought in the middle of a fight.

"Cheap shot, dude," you say disapprovingly as you push yourself to your feet.

His eyes narrow. "Did you expect a fair fight?"

Bones shoot from the ground. You trip backwards with a yelp, your left leg getting knocked harshly in the process, and find yourself tumbling to the side to dodge a wave of bones thrown your way. Bone-summoning powers, too? And not even nice little human bones – some are as tall as you, and about as thick. Jeez, talk about OP.

Before you can get caught in your ruminations you have to dart out of the way of another laser blast. You're graceless and unsteady, but you're getting used to the reduction in weight caused by your soul. It means you can move faster and react quicker. On the other hand, you don't know how much force is needed to move precisely where you want.

You're learning though. And that's all that matters.

Typically, this is when you lose control of your momentum and windmill into a laser.

* * *

You try talking to him whilst you fight. There's no rules against chatting whilst attempting to kill someone, right? Unfortunately, he's not much of a conversationalist.

It doesn't stop you.

"What do you have against Chara, anyway? Did they make fun of you? I think mocking people is their way of showing affection, so you shouldn't be too offended!"

Chara glares at you after that load. You smile back cheerily.

* * *

"Wait, so we're underground, right? Then how is there snow? Or, light for that matter? I can't see the ceiling to this place, just- are those clouds?!"

Turns out gawking at the sky during a fight is not one of the better ideas you've had.

* * *

"What do you do for fun around here? Snowball fights? I'm betting on snowball fights. Those are the _best._ I am the master of making snow forts, even if I can't hit someone to save my life. That's what minions are for, anyway! Hey Flowey, you wanna join my team? You're pretty good with those bullets of yours – I bet you're even better with snowballs! You can join too Chara! We can be Team Murderous Assholes! Oh, or how about Team Murder Buddies? Gotta fit 'murder' in there somehow...it's your favourite hobby!"

Chara lugs a snowball at your back. The moment of distraction costs you.

* * *

"If you're a skeleton how are you not falling apart without, muscle and skin, and stuff? Is it magic? It's magic, isn't it? That's- oooh _so_ close, you've got really good aim, y'know that? What was I saying? Right! That's brilliant, Biology would've been _waaay_ more fun if we had magical skeletons!"

You think his smile might've been a bit more genuine for a second. You aren't sure though, because soon after some bones shredded your torso and pretty much insta-killed you. Damn.

* * *

Then, one run, he actually says something.

"You killed humans on the surface," Sans starts as you hurdle the bones he sends spiking from the ground. "Why?"

You twist around a laser blast and duck under the bones thrown your way. You give a pleased smile. You're getting better at this.

It sinks in he's speaking to you and you blink at him. "Oh." He's not attacking you at the moment. Instead, he's just watching you with an assessing gaze. "Well, I was stuck in a loop up there, like you guys. I didn't have control of it or anything, so I, uh, found a way to pass the time."

He glares at you coldly. "Killing is just…passing the time for you?" he spits.

You frown, scratching your cheek. What was killing for you?

Entertainment. A way to distract yourself, to make things different. It wasn't personal – you'd never really hated someone before, or anything like that. You liked testing out different ways to kill, to find which was best. Like how you found the best ways to make people like you, and how to help them with their problems.

At least, that's what is was later on.

The first time…you were angry. Your parents never changed, they were just faded puppets of the people you once loved (you think you loved them). What did it matter if they died? What did it matter if they screamed? Maybe if you hurt them, they'd feel even one _ounce_ of your pain. Maybe they'd finally understand why you couldn't pretend any longer.

It didn't work, of course. You turned the knife on yourself, sitting in a pool of their blood, and the next time you tried wasn't any better. Or the next. Or the next.

You pull your lips into a grin. "Used to be. I don't do it anymore. It's not really my thing."

He looks angry. Then he snorts. "Should've expected something like that. You're not much better than Chara, are ya?"

You shrug. "I can't say I've ever destroyed a world before. That would be viewed as worse, right?" you ask.

His eyebrows raise. "You really need to ask that? Boy, you're messed up."

You smile. "I know. I can't really help it."

"S'pose you can't."

You get a quick death this go around – bones crush your skull and you're dead before you can register any pain.

You receive odd looks from both Flowey and Chara. Something flickers through Chara's otherwise blank gaze before they take their position outside by the door, arms crossed and head tilted down. Their fingers clench into their sweater.

You look at them curiously. What's that about? You're distracted by the thrill of barely postponing your next death, meeting a grim Sans with boundless enthusiasm.

You're getting used to this laser thing. The dragon skulls light up a few seconds before releasing a blast, usually giving you time to throw yourself out of the way. Usually.

You scream when your arm gets caught, erased from your shoulder down. It only hurts for a moment, the wound almost instantly cauterised, but the odd shredding-burning sensation is one of the most painful things you've experienced. This is the first time you've been seriously injured, without dying quickly after anyway, in your fight against Sans.

You start snickering because what is _with_ monsters and your right arm? It's like they have it out for your poor limb.

When you notice the lack of further attacks you glance over at Sans. He's staring at your injured shoulder with wide eyes, one of his hands extended towards you. You think he actually looks a bit ill, his grin turned down at the edges.

"You okay there?" you ask, concerned.

He looks at you incredulously before barking out a laugh. "You're asking if _I'm_ okay? This another joke?"

"Um. No, not a joke." He really doesn't look good. You're used to him seeming exhausted - this much emotion is rare. You think you prefer it to Mister Grimface, even if he doesn't look at all happy.

"Fuck's sake, pal." He presses his outstretched hand over his eye socket – the one which occasionally flashes blue. It's a cool effect. "What're you even doing? You haven't tried to attack me once."

You shuffle awkwardly. Your absent arm puts you off balance and you hastily right yourself, setting your weight on the opposite leg. You catch his wince. "I don't want to attack you," you say simply.

He gives you a frustrated glare. "Then what's the point of all this? Why keep coming back every time I kill you?" He jabs a hand at an amused looking Chara. "For _that_ thing's entertainment? Because that's all this is to them. A bit of _fun."_

He pauses. "Actually." He turns to face Chara, three dragon skulls appearing in the air above him. "Why am I even bothering with you?" He chuckles. "Guess I really am losing my mind."

"Hey now, that's just unfair!" Chara protests with a broad smile, heedless of the lasers being fired up. "You can't go breaking the rules like that! The _human_ is your opponent now."

"Says who?" he snarls.

"Uh, me, actually," you pipe up, waving your remaining arm when they both glance at you. "Hello."

"You really wanna fight me? Fine," he says flatly.

He raises his hand towards you and your soul turns blue. You're hit with the opposite of the soul's effect – gravity weighs down on you, making you grunt and strain to stay upright. It's like you're being dragged down by weights attached to your entire body. You don't have any chance to adjust before you're sent flying into a tree.

Your back slams against the wood. Something cracks. Pain skitters down your spine and spikes through your body. You gasp in a breath, choking halfway through it. Then you're smashed into the tree on the opposite side of the path, breaking your nose and several ribs in the process.

Back and forth you go, like the ball in a tennis match, until finally you're dropped in a heap on the ground. When you try to breathe you can't seem to get in enough air. You're on your side, blood from cuts on your face obscuring the vision in one of your eyes, and you can see pieces of bone poking out through your jeans in several places on your legs. Your own bones, for a change.

A pair of pink slippers step in front of you. You hear Sans sigh. "Just give up. It's pointless."

You laugh wetly. Oh, that hurts. Imagine that.

You spit the blood pooling in your mouth onto the snow, staining it a vivid red. Give up. He wants you to give up.

What bullshit.

You tried giving up plenty of times, and what did it get you? Nothing. Even if you gave up you still had no choice to keep living. Your choices don't matter, not really.

Or, at least they didn't before you fell into the Underground. Until everything you've known for so long changed. You've got a hold of something dangerous now, don't you? Something that'll make you get up again and again and again, keep you fighting no matter what.

(Your sleeve is torn away up to the elbow. You can see the words carved into your skin.

 _R. R. T. B. A)_

You have hope.

Snow crunches as Sans moves away.

You dig your elbow into the ground and push. The action pulls a whine from your throat but you keep going, dragging your legs up until you're on your hands – hand and knees (heh). Agony pulses through you and you bare your teeth in a savage grin.

You tilt your head up and meet Sans' shocked gaze. "C-counting me out so soon? I'm offended."

Your sight is blurring at the edges and you're shaking, but you don't care. Your teeth bite down on your lip hard enough to bleed as you force your weight onto your legs. If it weren't for your soul bolstering your body, you're sure you would fall. As it is you're swaying in place, shattered bones crunching sickeningly. Your legs have just enough integrity to keep you upright – anything else is too much for them.

That's okay. You've been in worse shape. And this time, you have something worth standing up for.

(your soul pulses and the wisps around it dissipate)

"You can kill me all you like," you tell Sans, mouth shifting into a lopsided grin. "I'm not giving up. You'll find I'm pretty good at dying, but I'm even better at coming back."

* * *

Oh Avery, you cheesy, ridiculously high pain-threshold potato.

So, whilst I didn't write down every fight, you can probably imagine what happened (hint: Avery died a lot). Hopefully these snippets give you an idea of how that's going though. Oh, and I changed my mind about having them only coming back during resets because that would've made this bit a pain. However, if Chara creates a save point AFTER Avery dies, then Avery stays dead (until a reset).

Hope you guys liked, thank you so much for the reviews! Let me know what you think, especially if Sans is horrendously OOC (haha can you tell I'm still worrying about that? Welp, I am)


	9. Chapter 9

He hesitates.

There are three dragon skulls still hanging about nearby, but he doesn't use them. His eyes don't leave yours, and you now know why the small white pinpricks are so familiar to you. You wonder if Gaster is watching all this – he said something about being present in both the past and the present, didn't he. What does he think of all this? Probably that it's pretty ridiculous. You're on the verge of laughter yourself.

(but aren't you always? Your very existence is a huge joke, after all)

You think Sans might be shaking a bit, drops of sweat sliding down his skull. Throwing you about must've tired him out – this is the first time he used that kind of attack. Mostly he sticks to throwing bones your way and firing off lasers.

Blood drips into your eye. Ha ha, you must be really gross looking, huh? Too be fair, blood isn't a good look on anyone.

His eyes dart to Chara and back to you, before his shoulders slump. "Sit down. You look like you're gonna keel over."

Your brows furrow. "But you'll start fi-"

"I won't fight Chara!" he exclaims. "Jeez, just- just sit down, alright. You're hurt enough as it is, no need to make it worse."

You blink at him in confusion. What? "But I'm not any good like this. I can't even dodge."

"You don't- you don't need to dodge." He takes an aborted step towards you before pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead, eyes scrunching shut. His other hand is tugging at his scarf. "Quiet down, alright? I can't think."

Okay, now you're worried. "What's wrong? I have some aspirin in my pocket if you have a headache." You go to rummage around in the patchy pockets you'd sewn onto your sweater. A sharp twinge of pain through your hand reminds you of the broken state of your body, as well as the fact that the pills were probably crushed. "Damn. Forgot about that."

Sans bursts into harsh laughter that borders on hysterical. You watch him, bemused. What is up with this guy?

Still, you decide to oblige him by sitting down. It's difficult to do so with one arm, so you give up and just let yourself flop onto your backside. You groan faintly as you adjust to the new fissures of agony. That wasn't fun. It _does_ feel better to be of your legs, though, so it's not a total loss.

You smile up at a much calmer Sans. "So, I'm sitting. Your thinkpan recovered yet?"

"Sure." He knocks the side of his head with his knuckles, making an odd, clacking sound. "Good as new."

You snicker. "I can't say the same," you say, missing his wince. You don't think you have a concussion, but you wouldn't be surprised if there were some hairline fractures at the least. Still, you're coherent. That's always a good thing.

"Right, well, I'm not much good in this condition," you say, glancing down at your body. With your legs outstretched in front of you, you can see the extent of the damage, and _boy_ is it not pretty. The fuzziness of your vision probably hides the worst of it, actually. "So would you mind killing me?"

"What?" He tenses, hands clenching at his sides.

"Killing me. Y'know." You make a little gun with your hand – your fingers crackle oddly – and point it at him. "Pew, pew. Lasers. Death."

He shakes his head. "No. I'm done killing you." His grin is more fake than ever. "Haven't you had enough? Give it a rest, already."

You roll your eyes. " _I've_ killed myself more than _you_ have. You have a long way to go before even coming close to my count."

He blinks. "That's, uh, that's kinda sad, actually. Why'd you do that?"

You frown at him. "I told you. I've been looping – resetting, for a long time. Suicide is par the course."

"A long time, huh?"

"Yup. About-" You break into a coughing fit, hunching over with the force of it. You feel like your lungs are trying to escape your chest, and it's not long before you're retching. By the time you're done, your throat burns and you have tears in your eyes.

"Urgh," you groan, slowly lifting your head. You see the bright blood seeping into the snow in front of you, and wipe away the spit around your mouth. "Great."

"You're pretty far gone, then?" He sounds…sympathetic. But why would he? You really don't get this guy.

"Uh-huh," you say miserably. You hate vomiting. Throwing up blood isn't any better, and in addition to that you can't really breathe much. You're probably going to start choking soon. That always sucks.

You hear a sigh. You look up through your fringe to see the vivid blue of a skull dragon's mouth. Squinting, you can just about see Sans behind it. "Catch you on the flip side, pal."

You wave. "See you later."

You die.

* * *

You breathe in deeply and rest your forehead against the door. The lack of pain is sharp in its relief, and it's all you can do to take slow, deep breaths, rather than gulping them down as you'd like to. You stretch the fingers of your right hand and pull them in tight. Stretch, tighten. Stretch, tighten.

"Are you…alright?" Flowey asks tentatively. He's on the floor beside you, and you can see his worried expression. You assume Chara has left since they don't say anything. Gone to find something to kill, probably, if they hadn't already murdered every monster in the Ruins.

"Great. I'm great." You smile reassuringly, your eyes sliding shut. "I'm just gonna take a quick break, okay?"

"…okay."

You slide into a seated position on the floor, your back against the door. You press your face into your knees. This is…well, you weren't expecting anything like this. You've always, _always_ wanted to know what causes the loops. Ever since that first day – heh, you thought it was so cool back then, how stupid were you? – you've tried to find answers. Some reasonable explanation that wasn't insanity, or worse. You got more complacent in the later loops, but the question always rode on your mind.

And now you know. You're an accident, a "glitch", something that never should've happened. Some kid didn't have enough fun with their first couple of mass murders, so they rewound time until it broke. And to think, you never would've found out if you hadn't happened to fall down one specific hole in the earth. If the pointless, never-ending hell that was your life hadn't overwhelmed you, made you decide to walk and _keep_ walking.

You're not sure if fate is on your side, or if it bitterly hates you.

Slowly, you smile. You've got a plan, now. A way out. Finally. All you need to do is get Chara to this lab, and you won't ever _wake up_ again.

You'll drag them kicking and screaming if you need to.

Drowsiness washes over you and you slump further. It's been a while since you last slept, huh? Your body might not be tired, but sleeping is still a thing you need to do. You get rather loopy when you ignore the urge for too long.

You're…pretty comfy here.

A short nap sounds nice.

* * *

When you wake up, Chara is sitting cross-legged in front of you and Flowey is on your knees. They seem to be engaged in an intense staring match. You blink blearily at the two of them.

Your yawn whilst you shift a little to get comfier, drawing their attention to you. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Nope. Asriel and I were just having an…interesting talk. I learnt a lot!" Chara beams at you.

You imagine peeling the skin from their face with your knife. You don't feel the intense rage that filled you when you first learnt of their involvement in the loops, but visualising their pained expressions sparks a vindictive satisfaction. It might take you a little while to get over it.

"Yeah. Interesting," Flowey grumbles. "That's the word for it."

Chara sets their chin in their palms and pouts. "Aww, don't be like that! I thought we were _best friends, huh, Asriel?"_ They grin sharply.

He shivers, stem bending away from the child. You lean forwards so you're slightly above him, and smile. "Hey, now. What's put you in such a bad mood?"

Their grin wavers. "I'm not in a bad mood. Can't you see how _happy_ I am, being stuck in this boring place day after day? I just _love_ it here. In fact, I never want to leave! Which is just as well," they snarl even as they maintain a saccharine smile. "At the rate you're going, we never will!"

You raise an eyebrow. "No need to be such a pessimist. I've got this. Trust me."

"Why would I trust you? You're a _human,"_ they say, disgusted.

"Not a fan of humans, are you?"

"Like you're any better?" they sneer. It's an odd expression on such a young face. "You're the one who's killed enough of them to get such a high LV. It takes nearly every monster in the Underground for me to even get _close_ to that. You really hate humans, don't you?" they say cheerfully.

You shake your head. "Not really. There's too much variation to really hate humanity as a whole. And besides, it's not like I went around systematically decimating towns. I mostly killed the same people over and over again."

"Who?" they ask curiously.

"My parents."

Their eyes widen. "Oh." Chara looks down at the floor, scraping at the stone with a fingernail. "Was it…for revenge?"

You sigh faintly, tilting your head back to rest against the door. "No. They were- are, good parents, really. Couldn't hope for better. I was just," you give a short laugh. "I was a difficult kid to deal with. Always getting myself into trouble, running head first into danger. They did the best they could; I can't ask for more than that."

"Then why would you kill them?" You catch Flowey's confused gaze. "They're your parents," he clarifies. "Don't you care about them?" He pauses. "Love them?"

You hesitate. "I…I don't know. They loved _me,_ so, I should've, right? I must've." You bite your lip. "How…how do you tell if you love someone?"

Chara bursts into laughter. "You're asking _us?_ That's, haha, that's hilarious!"

You give a hollow smile. "Yeah. It doesn't matter. If this works I'll never see them again, anyway."

Flowey frowns at you. "What does that mean?"

Shaking your head, you say, "Nothing. Ignore me."

"I'm hungry," Chara declares, getting to their feet. "I'll load later. Go get yourself killed if you want." They set off down the corridor.

You wave. "Bye."

You consider Flowey, who moves from your knees to sink into the ground at your side. "You've been quiet. What's up?"

"Nothing," he says quickly, looking away. "Quit being nosy."

"Can't help it." You lean closer and say in a conspiratorial whisper, "Don't tell anyone, but I'm a real worry wart. If you don't tell me what's wrong I'll just _obsess_ over it and I'll keep bugging you, don't think I won't."

His mouth twitches into a small smile before he forces it into a scowl. "You're so annoying."

You tap your fingers to your head in a salute. "Sure am."

He sighs gustily. "Fine. I've been staying away from Chara for a while now and," he pauses and smiles weakly. "Being around them again doesn't really bring up good memories. That's all."

"They hurt you, didn't they?" you say flatly. "A lot."

A shiver runs through him and he closes his eyes. "Yeah. You could say that."

Your nails are biting into your palms. "Do you want me to hurt them?"

"What?!" He gapes up at you in shock.

"Chara hurt you. So I'll hurt them," you explain patiently. "Don't worry, I'm pretty good at it. I can probably distract them enough to prevent them loading or resetting, at least for a little while. After that, I can just find-"

"No!"

You blink at him in confusion. "No?"

"No, I don't- I don't want you to do that, okay?" His head is bowed, leaves fluttering nervously. "It won't help, and they might- you shouldn't underestimate them."

You watch him for a few seconds before smiling softly. "Okay, I won't do anything. But," you bend down to meet his gaze, looking at him seriously. "If you change your mind, just let me know."

He shivers and takes a deep breath before nodding resolutely. "I'll remember." An odd look passes over his features. "Uh, thanks. For offering."

"Of course! You're my friend, after all."

He stares at you for a long moment. A small grin forms on his face. "Yeah. Friends."

* * *

For the reviewer who mentioned how the player controls the Resets, I'm not really sure about that, but either way this is pretty damn AU at this point so *shrugs* INACCURACIES ABOUND.

Also, I swear Avery is a gender-neutral name? As in, I've at least heard it used for both males and females.

Eh.

Hope you guys liked the chapter! I'd love to hear what you think :)


	10. Chapter 10

You manage to drift off again for a while, before you force yourself to get moving. Having a rest is nice and all but you're eager to fight Sans again. You won't get any better at dodging his attacks by lying on the floor.

You relish the ease in which you can stand up. Whenever you get seriously injured, you always appreciate your unharmed body in the next loop. Not enough to make much effort in keeping from getting hurt again, but you still enjoy having a full range of movement.

You were pretty useless with so many of your bones shattered. Hopefully that isn't an attack Sans can use often. Otherwise, you're screwed.

"How long was I asleep?" you murmur, rolling your shoulders and grimacing at the cracks your spine makes. It turns out that lying on the floor against a door didn't make for the comfiest sleeping position. Still, you feel better for it. You needed some time to just sort everything out in your head. Now, you need to get going.

"Not long," Flowey says. "Five hours at most. You sleep like the dead, by the way. Do you have _any_ sense of self-preservation?"

"Judging by my past actions…I'd have to say no."

"Figures," he says quietly.

You consider the door you've opened so many times, eyes tracing the delta rune. "Hey, Flowey. Why does Chara call you Asriel? Is that your real name?"

He glares at you. "No, it's not. Drop it."

"Okay." You turn back to the door and push. You stop, surprised, when you encounter resistance. It's like something is pressed up against it on the other side. Has Sans blocked it? That'd probably be more effective in keeping Chara in than just killing you again and again.

Bracing your shoulder against the door, you shove at it with a grunt. Gradually, it starts to open, the gap getting just large enough for you to slip through. You stumble when your foot somehow gets caught, twisting around and hopping awkwardly on one leg before you manage to release it. You give an amused Flowey a triumphant thumbs up.

"Now, what's-"

You blink, bemused, at the sight before you. Sans is sat on the ground, leaning against the door, with his eyes closed (eyelids made of bone? Okay). He's breathing slowly and looks more relaxed than you've seen him, head tilted forward to rest on his scarf. He fell asleep? If he's really been killing Chara for as long as you've guessed, and then you for all the runs afterwards, is this the first time he's slept in all that time? You can't think of any other reason for why he'd let his guard down here.

"Flowey? You mind keeping an eye on Chara and letting me know if they head back here?" you ask.

Flowey appears beside you in the snow and eyes you curiously. "Why? You could kill him right now - he only has one HP. A strong breeze could probably take him out."

When you raise your eyebrows at him he sighs heavily. "I know, I know. Fine."

"Thanks."

"No problem," he says mockingly, before he sinks back under the ground. You can only assume he's going off to find Chara. He's smart enough to keep out of their sight, you're sure. If they do something to him…well, you won't react well.

You drop into a crouch near Sans. He doesn't seem to notice you at all. You scratch the back of your neck, wondering what to do next. Now would really be the perfect moment to sneak Chara past him, but you can guess that Chara wouldn't be happy with leaving him alone. They'd kill him. And you don't want him _dead._

You're not capable of judging people for killing or hurting others. You're not a good enough person for that. At the same time, if you can stop it from happening, why wouldn't you? Your own life is as expendable as it gets.

Before it might not have mattered so much, because the world would just loop and everything would be back the way it was before. But now that you have a way to finally put an end to it, every loop – reset – could be your last. Whoever dies this run might not come back. If everyone dies…the world would be so empty. You wouldn't be able to stand it. Especially not _this_ world, already so much more vibrant than anything has been for decades. You can't remember the last time you _felt_ so much. Maybe that's why you can't bring yourself to kill.

"Frigging emotions," you grumble with a smile. "So inconvenient."

With a huff you straighten up. You need to distract yourself. You look from Sans slumbering body to the snow surrounding you, and your lips curl into a mischievous grin.

By the time Sans starts to wake up you're nearly done with your masterpiece.

"Wha-what are you…" he says groggily, blinking at you. You grin proudly. Then he looks down at himself. He snorts. "Is that…a skeletail?"

You snigger as you smooth down the edges of the fish tail you've crafted to his body. "Yup. Though, it's not quite _fin_ ished." You beam at his obvious amusement before returning to your work. You hum as you add more scales into the lower portion of the tail, and make the fins a bit longer by packing on snow.

By the time you're done you're pretty proud of it. "Ta da!" you exclaim. "What do you think?"

His grin widens. "Seems a bit fishy to me."

You pout and chuck a clump of snow at his chest. "I'll have you know that this is _Art._ You don't just insult Art."

He raises his hands in surrender. "Sorry, sorry."

You nod imperiously. "You are forgiven. Now," you leap to your feet and extend a hand. "Want some help getting up? I, uh." you smile sheepishly. "It's a bit thick."

He shakes his head. "That's-" You think he must try to move, because he cuts himself off and gives the snow covering him a frustrated look. When he meets your gaze again you wiggle your fingers. He grimaces. "That'd be great."

You pull him to his feet, snow falling in thick lumps. He's surprisingly light and even though his hand is made of bone, it's almost as warm as yours are normally (sticking them in snow has cooled them down a bit). He quickly lets go and stuffs his hands in his pockets. You eye his thick jacket enviously. Whilst your sweater is comfy and all, it's not really made for this kind of weather. Oh well, you can deal.

The pinpricks of his eyes dart around the area warily. "So. Chara gonna show up?" He tenses. "Or did they already get past?"

"Nah, they're still in the Ruins. Flowey's keeping an eye on them."

He raises a brow. "Flowey? That's not too reassuring. Last I checked, those two were buddies."

You frown. "Not anymore. At least, I don't think so."

"Okay." He shrugs. "S'good, I guess. Not sure if I'd be able to hold of the both of 'em." He shifts on his feet, smiling becoming forced. "Barely managing as it is, and you're not even trying to kill me."

You laugh. "You're kidding, right? Man, you're _decimating_ me. That last one was brutal – I couldn't feel anything but pain!" you say admiringly.

Sans flinches and looks away. "Yeah. Didn't mean- I didn't mean to go that far. Sorry."

You wave your hands frantically. "H-hey, it's fine! These are my favourite deaths! Really, you knocked the man-eating shark and the faulty roller coaster out of the park!"

"Uh. Thanks?" he says unsurely.

"And those laser dragons of yours? Coolest murder weapons ever!" you enthuse.

He snorts. "They're called Gaster blasters. And, yeah, I guess they're pretty cool."

You freeze. "Gaster…blasters? As in, Doctor W. D. Gaster?"

The lights in his eyes disappear abruptly. "How'd you know that name?"

"How do _you_ know that name?" you exclaim. "He told me he was erased from existence!"

His brows scrunch together. "He _told_ you?"

You scratch your cheek. "Oh, wow, how to explain this? Um, you know about the resets and all that, right? Well, when Chara reset I ended up in this weird place-" You make finger quotes "-outside time and space, and Gaster showed up."

"You saw him? And spoke to him?" he asks, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Yeah, nice guy. Told me I was a "glitch", only evidence of how corrupt this timeline is." You frown. "Which, if I think about it, is kind of worrying. Luckily we have a plan!"

"A plan?" Sans echoes. He still looks rather stunned.

You nod. "A way to end the resets, permanently. That's why I've been trying to get past you – well, now that I've remembered." You continue solemnly, "I need to get Chara to something called the Determination Extractor. It's in Alphys' lab. Do you know where that is?"

"You could say that." He gives a short laugh, pressing a hand to his forehead. "S'just like him, ain't it? I'm scrabbling 'round with a thousand deaths rattling in my skull, doing my best to stop even more, and he's suddenly got all the answers. Typical."

You eye him in concern. "Not all. I need to actually get Chara there for this to work, and it's not like I even know what to do once arrive."

He meets your gaze resolutely. "Let me handle that. If there's even a chance this could put an end to the resets, I'm all for it. I'd take you through a shortcut but…" He glances over at the door, before smiling ruefully. "Something tells me Chara wouldn't be all that compliant. I've gotten good at killing them, but containing them's a whole other game. They'd just reset."

You think for a moment. What does Chara want?

To destroy everything. To kill. To leave the Ruins. And once they kill everything in this snowy place, they'll move onto the next.

Okay, but what if it were you? What do you crave most (after a final death)?

"Something new," you mutter. Your head snaps up. "Has Chara ever been to this lab?"

His eyes close for a few seconds. "No, not that I remember." His eyes open and narrow on you. "Why? What's that matter?"

"They've got to be bored." You grin. "What's more fun than an adventure?"

He considers you. "That…could work. But what's to stop 'em from killing every monster in their way? I can't let that happen. Not again."

You put a hand to your collar bone. "I think you'll find I can be _very_ persuasive."

He doesn't look convinced.

"Aww, c'mon." You pout. "What've you got to lose?"

"Not much. Too much." Sans breathes out heavily. "Sure, pal. I'll give it a shot."

"Awesome." You clap your hands together. "Now, I'll just go get our little murder machine and we'll head off."

"You do that. I've got a few things to take care of," he says, turning his back to you and heading down the path.

"Oh. Okay, see you later."

He waves lazily over his shoulder. Then, in between one blink and the next, he's gone. Cool. You wish you could mysteriously teleport like a badass.

You're just walking towards the door when the world dissolves around you.

* * *

Y o u _fall_ fly _move_ still _wait_ run _Sc_ RE _am_

And then you're surrounded by darkness. You blink harshly, rubbing the side of your head. Wow, that's trippy.

Then you realise where you are.

" _Ha!"_ you yell gleefully. "I _told you_ I'd remember!"

Gaster appears before you in all his turtleneck and gloopy jacket glory. _"So you did. Eventually."_

You flinch dramatically. "Ouch. I'm gonna need some ice for that burn."

You think he might be laughing at you. Hard to tell when his facial expression barely changes. His shoulders do seem to be shaking a bit, though, so you're going to go with _yes,_ he's laughing at you.

You made a non-existent person laugh. That's brilliant.

He sobers. _"Your meeting with Sans did not go…quite as I had predicted. I knew he was strongly effected by his remembrance of previous resets, but to continuously kill a human who means no harm is unlike him. I must apologise for his behaviour."_

You shake your head. "What-what is with everyone and saying sorry? I had the time of my life!" You run a hand roughly through your hair. "Everything's so _easy_ nowadays, but fighting him." You beam. "It was almost impossible. And hey, it helped me remember you, so it all worked out."

" _I…I suppose you are correct."_

You set your hands on your hips sternly. "There's no 'supposing' about it. We can actually do something about Chara now, keep those timelines from imploding. Or whatever."

" _Corruption,"_ he says. _"When the fallen child erased the previous iteration of this world, they created an imperfect version in its place. It cannot remain stable beneath repeated resets. The code that holds it together has been subject to corruption – minor, initially, but it_ will _worsen unless the child is stopped."_

"Is that why Sans can remember? Because of this corruption?"

Gaster looks away. _"Our machines picked up evidence of an anomaly. Timelines fluctuating unnaturally, coming to a halt entirely in some cases. We never assumed that time could be manipulated with such ease…but Sans became aware of what was happening to him. Or the memories being erased with each reset. This knowledge made him susceptible."_

You frown. "But what can the corruption actually _do,_ other than give people memories?"

His eyes close. _"The best case scenario? The lines between dimensions will grow so thin that travel across them is a very real possibility. And there are entities out there whose sole purpose is to consume broken timelines such as this – that delicate line is the only thing keeping them out."_

"And…the worst case?"

" _The total destruction of our timeline."_

* * *

A/N: Plot thickening! Stuff happening! (Hopefully characters are in character-ing?)


	11. Chapter 11

You grin up at Gaster. "You're kind of dramatic, y'know that?"

He frowns at you. _"I am being perfectly serious. Whilst time and space for the most part repair themselves around anomalies, there is a limit to this. Destruction is a probable occurrence."_

"Then it's a good job we have a plan," you say, idly pulling at a loose string coming from your sleeve. "Focus on the bright side."

" _What bright side?"_ he asks gloomily.

"Well, we have a way to stop Chara. Extract their determination and they can't reset, right? And it's not just us; Sans is going to help too. Speaking of." You lean towards Gaster. "How do you two know each other? Is it another of the side effects?"

He hesitates. _"Not quite. If he has recalled any memories of me, then yes, that can be attributed to the fallen child. However, he knew of my existence previously. I was the Royal Scientist, and he was one of my assistants. He was also…my brother."_

"Oh." You smile sadly. "I can see the resemblance between you two."

" _Really?"_ Gaster chuckles. _"That surprises me. I do not look quite the same as I did before the accident. My form has deteriorated, somewhat."_

"Deteriorated? Pshaw." You wink and point a pair of finger guns at him. "You're a major hottie."

The white pinpricks of his eyes dart away and a faint purple blush spreads across his cheeks. _"I-I, um, thank you? Your level of attractiveness could be, considered, above average?"_

You burst into giggles. "Oh man, you're adorable!"

" _Could you stop? Please?"_

You wipe away the tears in your eyes, starting to calm down before you catch sight of the flustered monster. You laugh helplessly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That was just…a really great reaction." At least he's lightened up a little. These monsters were far too sad for your liking.

" _Yes, well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself,"_ he says almost grumpily.

"Right, I kind of side-tracked us there, huh? You were talking about how you and Sans are brothers," you prompt.

Gaster sighs, shoulders lowering. It seems the longer you're here the more his expressions and actions come across to you – the more you can _see._ It's an odd effect, to say the least. Like talking to someone on the phone as you move to a place with better reception.

" _Was. He does not truly remember who I am, only that I was an important figure in his life. My erasure is not the same as the fallen child's resets. All knowledge of my existence has been removed from time and space, yet relics of who I was remain. It is unsettling to see my impact on this world, but be unable to interact with it."_ His arms cross, long fingers grasping his black coat.

The sadness in his features makes you straighten. "Is there any way to un-erase you?"

" _No,"_ he says firmly. _"If it were possible I would've found a way. I have had a long time to consider how to undo my mistake – I have accepted that this is my fate. Focus on your own mission. It is far more important, after all."_

"I…okay." You feel the static consuming your legs. It always has an odd sense of timing, doesn't it? You give Gaster a searching look. "You shouldn't be so quick to give up, you know. It'll help for a little while, but desperation always has a way of returning. A bit of hope goes a long way."

The static covers your eyes and ears before he can respond to your words.

* * *

When you open your eyes Chara pokes your side.

You blink at them. "Can I help you?"

"Give me my knife back," they demand. "There's no good weapons down here, especially not that dumb _stick_."

"Why do you need it anyway?"

They roll their eyes. "So I can kill Sans, duh. You're obviously not getting anywhere, and it's not even fun to watch now."

"I'd say it's pretty entertaining," you protest. "Did you not see the way he broke, like, _every_ bone in my body?! And I was bleeding out _completely._ Heh, I would've stabbed myself if I thought my hand could actually manage it, I was in that much pain."

They shift uncomfortably. "Well, I didn't like it."

"Really? Huh. Weird."

They glare up at you. " _I'm_ the weird one?! You're the one who _laughs_ about being blasted to pieces, who thinks dying is _so cool,_ who gets up even when you should be _dead!_ What is _wrong_ with you?!" they explode.

Hesitantly, you pat the top of their head, feeling them freeze. "Uh, it's okay. You don't need to get so worked up over this. I'm fine, see?" You give a wide, cheesy grin and thumbs up.

Chara gapes at you disbelievingly. Then they swat your hand away and storm off.

You smile at a gawking Flowey. "That went well, I think."

"You have an odd definition of 'well'," he tells you.

"Maybe." Shrugging, you head up the corridor after Chara. There's no point in you fighting Sans any longer (even if you kind of want to), so all you can do is herd Chara back outside. You're a bit wary of handing over the knife – even if Sans has been doing a good job of keeping them in the Ruins, what if this is the time they manage to kill him?

You don't like the thought. You respect Sans; he's a lot like you, really, stuck in a loop he has no control over. He might've had someone to direct all his anger (fear, sorrow) at, but he's just as powerless. He's interesting to talk to as well. Even if he spent most of his time disgusted by you, you liked chatting with him during your fights and, briefly, in the past two runs.

It's rare nowadays that you meet people you don't want to die. Flowey, Gaster and Sans can count themselves among that number, so you'll do your best to keep them alive. Gaster might not be among the living, but you can still try to help him as much as you can. That's what people do for the ones they care about, right?

"What happened with Sans?" Flowey asks curiously as you near the end of the corridor. "Did you manage to last a bit longer?"

You consider taking the out he's obliviously given, before deciding against it. You know that he and Chara used to be friends (if Chara wasn't lying earlier) so it's likely that he'll tell them if you let him know what you're planning.

But at the same time, when has lying to someone ever helped a situation? He's your friend. You won't treat him as anything less.

"We've got a way to stop the resets."

The vines around your shoulder and neck tighten until you're sure they'll leave bruises.

"Stop…the resets?"

"Yeah. There's this machine that can remove determination – Chara won't be able to load or reset without it." You glance at Flowey. His eyes are narrowed, mouth turned down in a frown. "Right?"

"I…I guess," he says hesitantly. "But if Chara can't, then who…oh." His teeth sharpen and he grins. "Clever. And he didn't even tell-" He laugh harshly. "That's cruel."

"Mind letting me in on your thought process, there?"

He directs an innocent smile your way. "Oh, nothing. I just realised I should stop underestimating everyone. I keep being surprised!"

You raise an eyebrow as your head up the staircase. "That sounds a bit ominous."

"Does it?" He giggles.

You roll your eyes. "Fine, _fine,_ be all cryptic and mysterious."

So, Sans (and likely Gaster) aren't telling you everything about this Determination Extraction Machine. A bit disappointing, but not unexpected.

You tend to rush into things headfirst. However, you'll have to go against that trait; this is the kind of situation that requires a bit of thought. You don't want to put off finally getting to die. It's what you want more than anything. But, you hope this lab is far enough away that you can learn more about the situation by the time you get there. Even if you have to delay things a bit.

The two of you find Chara in the kitchen. They're leaning against the counter, biting savagely into a doughnut and glaring at the opposite wall. Their irate look turns on you when you walk in, the effect ruined a bit by the crumbs on their face.

Your stomach rumbles. "Got any more of those?"

"Find them yourself."

You shrug. "Alright." You head towards the fridge, figuring they're probably kept there.

It's been a long time since you've eaten anything. The loops keep you from starving, and you've stopped eating for years at a time just by killing yourself after a few days, but you can't say you're a fan of that. After the first time you starved to death you started appreciating how easy it is to access food, and you don't like to ignore your hunger for too long.

Sure enough, there's a box of doughnuts on the middle shelf. You offer one to Flowey - who shakes his head - and grab the two remaining doughnuts for yourself. You sit on the floor opposite Chara and take a bite.

Your eyes widen. That's…interesting. They're not like any pastry you've ever had – too light and thin, yet at the same time strangely filling. They have a slight tang to their taste, and a buzz of energy hums through you with each mouthful. You're much than you thought you'd be. Monster doughnuts are certainly different.

"Where'd they even come from?" you mutter. You needed yeast and oil to make them, right? So where did the ingredients come from? As far as you've seen, the Ruins didn't have any granaries, and you assume the door downstairs is the only way in or out.

"There's a spider bake sale," Flowey says, sounding lost in thought. He's barely paying attention to what he's saying. "Muffet runs it. It's how Mom-" He freezes. "Toriel. It's how _Toriel_ gets a lot of her food lately."

You blink. Toriel is Flowey's _Mom?_ But…she's a goat? And he's a flower? How even..?

Magic, you decide firmly. It seems to be the answer to just about every question you have. Why can the flower talk? Magic. How can your soul appear? Magic. How can the goat lady shoot fire? Magic. Walking, talking skeletons? Magic. Laser dragons? Magic.

(howwhywhywhy _why_ are you _still ALIVE?_

Magic)

Chara snorts. "Smooth recovery, Asriel. I'm sure the human didn't notice your slip _at all."_

"Notice what?" you say airily. "I didn't notice anything."

They give you a frustrated glare. "Do you _have_ to ruin my fun?"

You cross your legs and lean forwards with a grin. "I'm doing quite the opposite, actually. How would you like to leave the Ruins?"

Chara's eyes narrow. "What're you talking about? I _know_ you can't get past Sans."

Your grin turns smug and you wave a hand absently. "I don't need to. We came to an agreement. Congratulations; you're free to go!"

"Really," they state flatly. "Last I saw there was no _way_ he'd let me through. Now all of a sudden he's decided to forgive and forget? Not a chance in hell."

You look up at the ceiling in exasperation. "Why am I surrounded by pessimists?" You meet Chara's gaze. "Trust me, alright? We had a talk, I convinced him to let you pass. All you have to do is not kill his brother - easy."

"Tell me that after you've met the guy," the mutter. Their lips twist into a sugary smile. "I've been wondering when he'd return to his usual selfish personality, but I thought he'd hold out for a _little_ while longer. How'd you change his mind?"

You shrug nonchalantly. "I told him I knew a way to stop you from resetting." You laugh. "I can't believe he actually bought it! I've only been here for a few hours, technically – how would I know anything?"

Chara considers you for a long moment. "Stopping the resets is impossible. I didn't think he'd be that gullible."

"Maybe it's a monster thing?" You say idly, not reacting to their assessing stare. _"We_ both know how easily humans can lie, but they don't. It's…refreshing, how innocent they are. I've got to say I prefer this place to anywhere on the surface."

They study you, red eyes flickering across their face, before they give a small smile. "Yeah. Me too."

Chara finishes off their doughnut and stands up, brushing the crumbs off their striped shirt. They sigh before looking at you. "Come on, then. You're the first interesting thing to happen in _ages;_ you're staying with me."

"That's fine with me," you agree, standing up.

That went surprisingly smoothly. You look forward to seeing how it'll all fall apart at a crucial moment.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews! To answer a coupla guests, Underswap!Sans, Error!Sans, UF!Sans, etc. won't be making an appearance, primarily because I've kinda plotted this out already, and also because I'd hate to mess up writing such awesome characters! *nervous laughter* I barely manage with the canon guys.

Oh, and I'm a Deadpool fan but I didn't plan on any similarities with Avery, so if they're there that's super cool! XD I'm actually going to see the film today!

Hope you liked the chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

Before the three of you leave, you insist on grabbing a few supplies.

"It's freezing out there," you say as you look through the wardrobe. It's inside the first room you entered in the hallway, and seems to be for a child since there's a small bed and a bunch of toys beside it. All the clothing belongs to kids of various sizes and ages, so either the kid is a bit of a hoarder or multiple children have used this room. You guess it's the second one, judging by the variation in sizes.

You're looking for something warmer that'll fit Chara. You've spotted them shivering sometimes before you get too engaged in your fight with Sans, and since you're going to be out there for a while it's best they get some more suitable clothing.

The only reason they're listening to you and haven't just wandered off is that you're their ticket out of the Ruins. Oh, and you're apparently their new source of entertainment.

"I've always been fine before," they grumble, arms crossed as they linger by your side.

"'Fine' is not good enough. I won't accept anything less than 'amazing'," you declare brightly. "Aha!" You pull out a thicker green and yellow version of Chara's sweater from the back of the wardrobe. There's a bit of dust on it which you brush off, but otherwise it's in good condition.

You hold it up in front of an expressionless Chara. "Bit too big. Wish I had my sewing kit," you mumble.

You go to put it back, figuring you can go with it if there isn't anything more suitable, when Chara grabs your arm. Their eyes are focused on the sweater. "It'll do."

"You sure? There might be-"

"I don't care! I want this one." They snatch the sweater from you and hold it to their chest defensively, giving you a sharp glare.

You raise your hands in surrender. "Hey, if you want that one I'm not gonna take it from you."

A faint blush rises on their cheeks and their eyes dart away. "I-I know that."

You smile. "Cool. Now, shorts aren't really any good in snow, are they? Let's see..."

In addition to their new sweater, Chara ends up with woolly tights to wear under their shorts, a knitted hat and some snow boots made to fit with an extra pair of socks. You guess a couple of kids might've fallen down here during winter - though how Toriel ended up with their clothes you don't know - unless there were monster children with the same proportions and styles as human kids?

Either way, in your opinion Chara's much more prepared for the cold climate. They give you an annoyed look but, at your insistence, they put on the clothing. Like you thought the sweater is too big for them, draping halfway down to their knees, and with enough room for them to keep the purple sweater on as well. You're not against the extra layers, even if they look kind of ridiculous trying to roll up their sleeves only to have them fall down again.

Flowey evidently thinks so too, going by his sniggering. He's quiet enough that a distracted Chara doesn't hear him as they roughly pull on their new hat.

Chara throws their arms out, a heavy scowl on their face. "You happy now? I'm all _warm_ and _toasty,_ so can we _leave?!"_

"Yup!" You spin on your heel and head towards the stairs.

"Wha- I thought you said you wanted supplies!" Chara hurries after you, matching your pace in order to glare at you properly. "All you did was get me clothes!"

You give them a confused look. "Yeah. That's all the supplies we need, right? Unless-" You scratch the back of your head. "Are you going to need food and water, too? I don't really remember how much kids need to eat and stuff…"

"You sure you're not forgetting something?" Flowey asks, tilting forwards to meet your gaze. "Or someone?"

"Right." Your forehead wrinkles in concern. "Do you need anything, Flowey? I wasn't sure if you felt the cold or not, or if it's damaging-"

He rolls his eyes. "I mean _you,_ idiot."

You blink. "Oh." You grin widely. "Nah, I'm fine. I'm pretty good with handling temperature extremes after freezing to death a few times. Though, frost bite kind of sucks…and hallucinations aren't much fun…but it's not really cold enough to cause that! Besides, if something happens I'll be brought back as soon as Chara next loads."

"What if I don't, huh?" Chara asks cheerily. "Then you'll just stay dead. No coming back to life for you!"

You give a wistful smile. "That'd be nice, actually. I'd love to die."

They stare at you.

"What?"

They shake their head and turn their gaze ahead, firmly away from you. You glance questioningly at Flowey but he just lifts his leaves in an approximation of a shrug.

You sigh faintly. Strange kid.

Pushing the purple door open is a familiar motion, though hopefully this will be the last repetition. You instantly spot Sans standing in the middle of the path, watching Chara with a wary expression. At least he looks less exhausted than usual.

"Took you long enough," he says as you walk closer. "Was starting to think you weren't gonna show."

Chara peers at him curiously. "You really aren't going to attack us?"

"Nope. I'm done with that. Trying something new this time."

Their lips quirk upwards. "Even after _all_ the times I killed poor Papyrus? Killed Toriel, and Undyne, and Mettaton, and-"

His eyes narrow on them. "Yeah. Even then."

They give a laugh of delight, clapping their hands together and spinning to face you. "I don't know what you said to him, but it must've been something _special._ Or maybe…" They smile at Sans. "You really did give up?"

They skip towards him. "Aww, was killing the poor human too much for you? Did it eat at your resolve, breaking them like that, time after time? Or did you enjoy it?" They tilt their head, grin widening. "Did that _scare_ you, how much fun you had?"

He would seem unaffected by Chara's taunts in not for the clenching of his fists. You decide to speak up before he decides this is more trouble than it's worth.

"Well, _I_ had fun, at least." You move past Chara and slightly in front of them so that Sans focuses on you. You beam at him. "We'll have to do that again sometime. Maybe I'll actually win for once!"

He considers you for a few seconds before he grins. "Dying for a rematch, are ya?"

"My track record would agree with you, yes," you say with a nod and a sheepish smile.

He shrugs. "Maybe. Guess we'll see."

"Great!" Chara exclaims sarcastically. "Glad that's sorted. Can we go now?"

Go? You look down the path behind Sans and a wide grin breaks across your face. How could you have gotten distracted from the fact that this is a _new place._ You've only seen the small area around the Ruins door, nothing past that. There could be so much stuff!

You turn to Chara, your excitement making you bounce slightly. "Yes, yes, YES we can go! C'mon!" You grab their hand, keeping your grip loose so they can pull away if they want to, and start down the path at a pace just short of a jog.

(Their nails bite into your hand for a moment before they relax, small fingers grabbing your tightly.

You don't give any indication of noticing)

Disappointingly, there's just a lot of trees. Don't get you wrong – you like trees and all. You'd have a go at climbing these ones if the branches weren't too thin to support your weight (and might try even then). And they look pretty cool in that dark, creepy way, towering high above you and creating an atmosphere of claustrophobia despite how open the area is.

But they're not, well, all that interesting.

Chara notices your disappointed slump. They sigh gustily. "Hey, Sans. Did you chase away every entertaining thing around here? Usually I would've stumbled across a few monsters by now."

"Everyone's keeping to themselves today." You start at his sudden appearance at your side, hands in his pockets and shoulders tense. "Figured you didn't need the temptation."

"But that's _boring!"_ they whine, swinging your hand. "And it's not like I can kill anyone when the human still has my knife."

There's a slight stutter in his stride. The white pinpricks of his eyes flick to you. "You had a weapon all this time, huh?"

You blink at him. "Well, yeah. Chara tried to stab me with it so I took it away. Getting stabbed isn't fun." Especially the stomach. It took you a while to bleed out from that one.

He looks surprised for a moment before he smirks at Chara. "They took away your knife? What're you, a misbehaving kid?"

They glare at him. "I can get it back whenever I want!"

He snorts. "Sure thing."

"I can!"

"This is so weird," Flowey mutters.

"What is?" you ask, tuning out Chara's protests and Sans' disbelieving remarks.

He waves a leaf. _"This._ Seeing them act…almost like a normal kid. I haven't seen them like that since, well, before they possessed Frisk."

"They're…possessing someone?" You heard the name 'Frisk' before when Flowey was insulting you for not being able to get past the monsters in the Ruins, but you haven't given them much thought. You've been a bit too busy for that. "Like a ghost?"

"More of a demon," he answers quietly. "Chara was dead. They took over Frisk's body a while ago. I don't…I don't know if Frisk is even still there."

"Is there any way to find out?"

"You could just ask me." Chara pulls their hand out of yours and increases the distance between the two of you. Their face is wiped of emotion.

"Okay." You shrug. "Is Frisk still there? Yoohoo, Frisk!" You wave a hand at Chara, before placing it above your eyes to shadow them as you peer into baffled red eyes. "You playing co-pilot in there? Or are you more of the backseat driver type?"

A giggle escapes them, which they hastily stop. They put on a scowl. "Stop being such an idiot."

You straighten up and give a forlorn sigh. "I'm afraid I can't, it's just who I am - and I must be true to myself."

"You could bear to be a little _less_ true to yourself," Flowey grumbles. "Give us all a break."

Sans side-eyes you. "You always this weird?"

You cover your face dramatically. "Nooo don't gang up on me! That's so unfair! Why isn't there anyone in _my_ corner? I need someone to defend me from you bullies!"

"SANS!"

You jolt at the loud voice, dropping your hands and looking around for the source. "Who-"

Whilst you weren't paying attention, another skeleton-monster had run up the path towards your little party. He's a lot taller than Sans, and is about as anatomically correct as the other skeleton you've met, though his proportions are much thinner. The red scarf (which looks more like a cape on him) is the same material as Sans', and he also wears red boots and gloves. The blue briefs with a golden belt along with black sleeves on his arms, legs and…spinal column, earn an eyebrow raise. That's quite a sense of style there.

"Sup, bro?" Sans gives an idle wave, despite the way he's just about shaking with tension.

You glance at an irritate-looking Chara. Oh. So this is the brother Chara thought would be the cause of Sans' selfishness. He's Gaster's brother too, isn't he? Well, they certainly share each other's height.

You nudge Sans' shoulder with your arm, feeling him jump and sensing his gaze on you. You flash a grin his way before focusing on the other skeleton. Papyrus, isn't it?

"You know what 'sup', brother!" he exclaims angrily. "It's been eight days and you still haven't-" He stops. Though you can't see any pupils like Sans has, you can tell he's looking from you to Chara and back again. It's odd, similar to how you can understand Gaster's expressions, but not quite as apparent.

"Sans," he begins hesitantly, before he erupts with excitement. "Is that a human?!" he asks, pointing at Chara.

"Yeah. Sure is," Sans says resignedly.

"Wowie!" He cups his cheeks, eyes all but glittering. "Even without puzzles of the calibre of my own you managed to capture a human! I am very proud! If, also, confused! Ah," Papyrus nods wisely. "I understand. Your change in outfit must have resulted in a similar change in attitude!"

Sans smiles fondly. "That's gotta be it."

"Then! We should alert Undyne and bring her the human, so that they can be taken to the Capital! Where! Something will happen, I guess."

That doesn't sound good. You don't know what monsters would want with a human, but you kind of need this specific one. Glancing at Chara's impatient expression you doubt they'd go along peacefully, either, knife or no.

"You capture humans with puzzles?" You ask quickly.

"Of course, strange monster who I have never encountered before!" Papyrus says, hands on his hips. "How else would we defeat our opponents than with finely crafted puzzles?"

"In that case." You grin broadly and step forward, lifting one arm up. A distraction and some fun all in one. "Hey there. I'm Avery, the most human-y human of them all."

His eyes widen. "Sans! You managed to capture _two_ humans?!"

You raise an eyebrow. "Do I look captured to you?"

Papyrus seems to frown, his eye sockets narrowing and his own perpetual grin shrinking slightly. "Well, I suppose not, human. I must rectify this!" He points at you dramatically. "Prepare yourself! For you shall soon face masterful puzzles! Bemusing japery! All concocted by the Great Papyrus, soon to be Royal Guard!" he declares, cape fluttering.

Then he spins around and bolts off. "Nyeh heh heh heh!"

You turn to Chara and ask incredulously, "How could you ever hurt _him?"_

"What?" Chara draws back, looking shocked.

You throw your arms out. "He's adorable! What, do you throw bags of kittens into rivers in your spare time, too? C'mon, Chara." You shake your head. "You're better than that."

Chara flinches like you just hit them. "I'm not, and you're an idiot if you think so."

You look at them in confusion. "For thinking…you're better? Of course you're better. Everyone can be better than the person they are now. You just have to try."

Then you blink. "Flowey, why are you hiding behind me?"

Flowey slowly emerges from his place hanging on your back, casting nervous glances over at Sans. "J-just keeping a promise."

"Damn right," Sans mutters.


	13. Chapter 13

You look between the two of them. Flowey avoids your gaze whilst Sans grins back. "That was weird." You glance at Chara. "That was weird, right?"

They ignore you. You guess they didn't like your comments on their behaviour much. That's fine. You were just being honest. You do think anyone can be better if they set their mind to it. What else can you think when you've seen both the worst and the best people can be, with so little prompting?

Never mind what _you_ can do. Then again, were you ever a particularly good person in the first place? It's hard to remember that far back, and you guess it doesn't matter all that much. All that counts is the person you are now.

"Let me down," Flowey abruptly demands, looking uncomfortable.

"Sure." You crouch down near the trees and watch as he sinks into the snow. Sans and Chara are just out of earshot when you lower your voice. "Any reason why?"

He scowls at you. "I got fed up of your shoulder. It's too…uh, high." He cringes.

You smile bemusedly. "Okay. I'll try to work on that. You'll be alright in the snow?"

"I'll be fine!" he exclaims, crossing his leaves. Then he smiles cheerily. "Have fun babysitting Chara and that trash bag. I'm sure _nothing_ will go wrong."

You shrug, scratching your cheek. "Yeah, I guess it's pretty likely something bad will happen. But at least it'll be interesting."

"I'm keeping my distance either way." He shudders. "Those two…let's just say I don't envy you."

"Huh?" You glance back at the two behind you. They're staring at each other with matching fixed grins. You chuckle. "Looks like one hell of a party to me."

He snorts. "Of course it would. I'll check in later to see if you're still alive."

"Aww, thanks!" You beam.

Flowey rolls his eyes and disappears into the ground.

You stand up, brushing a hand through your hair. You guess that this is the delay you were hoping for. A chance to learn more about the Determination Extraction Machine from Sans, and hopefully keep Chara interested enough that they don't reset. You don't think they will – not now that they've finally made it past Sans – but you can't be sure. It's not like you know the kid particularly well.

Maybe you should rectify that.

"Hey, Chara," you say as you head back over to them. They don't say anything or look at you, even if they match your pace when you begin walking down the path again. You sigh.

"Mind telling me why you're messing with my bro?"

You think blue is your favourite colour nowadays. The cyan shade is glowing at your threateningly from Sans' eye, and he's taken one hand out of his pockets so that you can see the wisps of magic twisting around his fingers. It's a cool effect, you have to say. A good way to remind you of how much he can hurt you. It's just too bad for him that you don't really feel fear, or care about pain.

You smile. "I'm not. Messing with him, that is."

"Right." The blue fades, leaving behind a flat blackness. His grin twitches wider. "You're just gonna do all his puzzles for fun, huh?"

"Well, yeah. I like puzzles," you say, unperturbed. "Is Papyrus good at them?" You hope so.

He blinks. White pinpricks study you. "'course he is."

"Awesome. The ones is the Ruins were a bit too easy, y'know?" You pout. "Plus I missed a tonne of them thanks to Flowey." You never did get a chance to go back, did you? If everything goes well you never will, either. You guess it's an acceptable loss.

"You didn't miss much," Chara pipes up. They're staring resolutely ahead, voice dull. Still, at least they're talking.

"Yeah? Any favourites?"

They shrug slightly. "The ones in Hotland are okay."

You raise an eyebrow. "Hotland?"

A small smile flickers across their face. "The king isn't very imaginative."

The three of you cross a short bridge, easily passing through the widely spaced bars set on it. You wonder why they're there in the first place since they're so ineffective. Maybe they're meant for something larger than you.

On the other side of the bridge is more snow and trees, the pathway continuing on. You briefly examine an oddly shaped lamp as you pass it, and a small wooden station. Is it like a kind of ranger's tower, keeping an eye out for lost monsters? Or maybe for humans wandering out from the Ruins, since Papyrus seems so keen on capturing them.

"What's this place called then? Coldland?" you propose.

So there's a king, huh? You've seen so few monsters that it's odd to think that there's an entire civilisation here. You don't even know how far away Alphys' lab is. Instead, you have to rely on Sans to guide you there, unless you can find out some other way.

You consider asking around. You'd have to get away from Chara for a while in order to do that, but maybe you can distract them with something. You'd rather they didn't kill anyone, of course. Still, if that's the only way…

"Nothing as silly as that," Sans says. You glance at him questioningly. His grin widens. "S'called Snowdin."

You laugh, containing your giggles enough to say, "That's amazing - I love this place."

"It's pretty cool, I guess." Sans looks up at the clouds. "Nothing compared to the surface though, right kid?"

Chara tenses and crosses their arms. They paste a wide smile on their face. "Yep! The surface is like _nothing you've ever seen._ Oh, wait." They giggle. "You never will!"

You stare at Chara. "Wow. Way to go for the throat, Chara."

They beam at you. "Interesting comparison. Maybe if you gave me my knife back I could do it _literally."_

You roll your eyes. "Fine." You reach into your pocket and pull out the toy knife, before holding it out, handle-first, to a gaping Chara. "Take it if you want it so much."

"You sure 'bout that?" Sans asks warily.

"Yep." You jiggle the knife. "Here you go."

They examine you. "Why are you giving it back? You know I'll just kill someone."

"Or, you could, you know – _not._ Just a thought."

What is with this kid and killing people? Maybe they just haven't been around long enough for it to lose its fun factor. They'll get bored of it eventually, if they haven't already. They have to realise that, right?

Slowly taking the knife from you, Chara frowns. "You won't be able to stop me."

You're pretty sure you could. You're physically stronger than them, faster too, and you doubt Sans will be leaving Chara alone any time soon either. Their time powers don't matter when they'll just be trapped in the Ruins. If they did manage to get past Sans then that leaves the rest of the Underground for you to explore, and one human to hunt down.

If you ever die and aren't brought back, well.

It's win win, really.

You shrug. "I know. But that's got to be boring by now; killing the same people over and over again. Surely their reactions don't change that much?"

"…not really," they admit.

"Then try something different." You wave a hand. "Make friends with everyone. Solve all their problems. Learn to solve their problems better. Care so much it hurts. Then…start over again."

"That what you did?"

You tilt your head at Sans. "At first. I started to run out of new people to help. Besides, it can be kind of hard to relate to people when you're over a hundred years older than they are. Or, something like that, anyway." You chuckle bashfully. "I kind of lost track a while back. How long's it been for you guys?"

He scrutinises you carefully. You smile back.

"Sixty-five resets, don't know how many reloads," Sans replies idly. "Only started remembering since the fifty-sixth, so I might be a bit off. Can't say it has much on you, huh?"

Only sixty-five. Oh. You thought it would be more than that.

(You cried a lot during your sixty-fifth loop, you think.

Or maybe you killed a lot.

Probably both)

"So what's remembering like?" you ask happily.

His smile strains. "Wouldn't recommend it."

"Why can you remember, anyway?" Chara frowns at him as they tap their knife against their thigh. "You could never recall what happened before I created this world. And now suddenly you know about every reset in all timelines." They peer at him. "What did you _do?"_

"Absolutely nothing. S'what I'm best at, right?" He winks at them.

"Maybe it's the same reason I'm here," you offer casually. "Or maybe reality is unravelling. Who knows?" You shrug in an exaggerated motion.

You're distracted from Chara's suspicious look by the sheet of ice you spot ahead. It makes you think of an incredibly hazardous round-a-bout; there's three paths leading off from it, not including your own, with a patch of snow and a wooden sign in the centre. You waste no time in flinging yourself at it with a gleeful grin.

Somehow you keep your balance, skidding along the ice with your arms out until you trip and face plant onto the snowy middle. Feeling two stares on your back, you raise your arm and give a thumbs up. "M'okay!"

You push yourself up, brushing off as much snow as you can. That was fun. It's probably not a good idea to let yourself get so distracted all the time, but you can't help it. It's the only reason you've survived all these years without going completely insane, after all.

If you start thinking too much…well, that never ends well for anyone.

When you spin around only Chara is standing there. Your eyebrows furrow. "Where'd Sans go?"

Chara raises their shoulders nonchalantly as they step onto the ice. They take practised, steady steps across it to you. "He didn't say. He's probably gone to make sure there's no monsters around." They smile flatly. "I'm surprised he let his brother so close to me. I'd have thought he would be more cautious than that."

"Well, you didn't kill Papyrus." You peer down at the sign. It indicates that Snowdin Town is to the east, whilst – you chuckle – there's just "ice" in every other direction. Obligingly, you slide off to the east, flailing slightly to keep your balance. "Why would you want to kill the guy, anyway?"

"Why wouldn't I?" They grin at you. "Killing is so much fun."

"Gonna have to disagree with you on that one. It gets old after a while."

"You said…" You look at their hesitant expression. "You said you've been resetting for over a hundred years. Did no one else remember?"

You stuff your hands in your pockets. "Nope. Just me." You laugh quietly. "I guess I'm kind of jealous of you, Chara."

"Jealous? Of _me?"_ they say incredulously. "You've got to be kidding."

"I'm not." You keep your eyes on the snow and trees ahead. "You get to control it _and_ you have people who remember. I'd…I'd have given a lot for that, when I was younger."

"…and now?"

You pull your lips into a wide smile. "Now I'm just trying to have some fun. This place should keep me going for a while."

They let out a huff of air. "It gets old faster than you'd think."

"Yeah? Maybe you just need to see things from another perspective."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

You grin. "Figure it out. You're a smart kid."


	14. Chara

This knife isn't the one you want.

It's so weak in your hands – you can bend it under a little pressure, the plastic giving way beneath your meagre strength. When you press it to the skin of your forearm nothing happens. A red indent forms on your arm, but that's it. It's hard to believe such a feeble weapon can cause so much damage to the monsters of the Underground.

They're so weak, really. You have nowhere near the amount of LV as you do when you reach Asgore, yet you can take them down with ease. Here, you're strong.

But not strong enough. You grimace at the door before you, tightening your grip on the knife. You don't know how it happened – how could you not _know?_ – but Sans' behaviour has changed. He started acting odd a few resets ago; he never greeted you at Snowdin, and for one reset he didn't even show up at the Judgement Hall. Then, when he did…you couldn't beat him.

You don't know why. He's strong, yes, but you can beat _anyone_ given enough tries. You loaded again and again and _again,_ all in an effort to memorise his attacks – attacks you thought you'd memorised long ago. But they kept changing. He seems to adapt to your attacks at the same pace as you did to his, and you lost count of the number of times he killed you. He has the advantage of distance, whereas you had to get close to even put a scratch on him.

It's no longer predictable and neat; dependent on your ability to dodge at the correct time and strike when his guard falls. It's no longer a fun _game._

And now you're trapped in the endless monotony of the Ruins. He doesn't even let you out anymore, fighting you the second you step outside. You hate it. You hate this place, how you know every inch of it and have killed every monster.

Killing Toriel is a chore. You don't even bother speaking to her – you just cut her down on your way to the basement. Her expression of shock never changes. How many loads ago did that occur? You're losing track.

With a steadying breath you push the door open. Your body shivers in reaction to the cold as your eyes dart over the treeline. His first attack is almost always the same. You step out onto the snow, and your – _it's yours now_ – soul forms before you.

You dodge the blast fired at you, as well as the two following. You adjust the knife so it sits more comfortably in your hand, bending your knees in preparation. You're fast – not as fast as you would be if you'd had chance to collect more EXP, but fast enough to escape at least several waves of Sans' attacks.

Your lips twist into a wild grin as you search for him. He likes to look you in the eye as he kills you, you've found, so you doubt he'll stay hidden for long.

Sure enough, as a row of bones spike from the ground you catch sight of him on the path ahead. It's the red scarf around his neck which makes you think he remembers more than the vague recollections he had before. He never gives you the standard script or even talks to you anymore. You would be excited by the changes if he weren't trapping you here.

"Just let me pass, Sans," you say as you dart out of the way of another blue beam. It ruffles your hair. "You've given up, remember? What do you care if I hurt a few monsters?"

You run towards him, twisting around the bones shot your way and knocking aside those you can't dodge. "Maybe this time I'll even be good. It's been a while since I didn't kill everyone in way."

"Not taking that chance, Chara."

You jolt at the sound of your name, eyes locking on his. The blue light in his eye socket glares back at you. You gape. "How do you-"

You scream when a bone spears through your side. It sends you flying back, and you land heavily on the ground. Tears gather in the corners of your eyes as pain lances through you, but you force yourself upright again. You still have your knife.

Sans trudges over to you, his hands in his pockets. It irritates you that he doesn't see you as a threat.

"Lucky shot," you comment snidely, blood gathering in your mouth. You spit it into the snow. Then you lunge at him, a wide grin stretched across your face.

He watches you dully as he sidesteps your swing. "Try again."

You register the blaster forming just in front of you a split second before it fires.

* * *

You yell in frustration, kicking at the door. It hurts – _obviously_ – and you glare furiously at the ground. You can't get past him. It was a lucky shot, sure, but you've tried and _tried_ and you just _can't._

You clench your fists. You'll reset. Kill all the monsters, and come back. It'll make you feel better.

 _Will it?_

You flinch at the faint voice. "Shut up, Frisk."

 _You can't keep hurting everyone. Please._

You punch the wall. The pain flickers through to Frisk, and you sense them cringe. They've been getting louder, more aware lately – that'll teach them what a bad idea that is.

"You handed over the reins to me, remember? You don't get to tell me what to do," you say harshly. This soul and body is _yours,_ now. You can do what you want.

… _I know. But, it's not making you happy either, is it?_

Your eyes widen. Then, you give a short hysterical laugh. "What are you talking about?" You throw your arms out. "I'm having the time of my life!"

You reset.

* * *

The first plate smashes satisfyingly against the wall. You keep throwing them until there's none left. Then you move onto the book shelf, grabbing books and tearing their pages from them. You like the sound they make, and crumple up some of the pieces into little balls. The rest you just drop, letting them float gently to the ground.

You make your way through most of them before you get bored. The idle destruction helped to soak up your rage, but frustration still buzzes through you. You're sick and tired of trying to get past this _dumb skeleton._

Wasn't he getting fed up with the same routine? Why not let you past, let you have a play around? It's not like it counts, anyway. You'll just reset, and he'll have his brother and friends back all perfectly unharmed!

 _Sans won't hurt the people he loves. It's…it's not something you're supposed to do. It's wrong._

You burst into laughter. "Really, Frisk? Can you get any more hypocritical?" You grin sharply. "Don't forget who the one that woke me up was. If you hadn't gotten _all_ that LV, I wouldn't have been able to do anything! You're the one who caused all this!"

 _I know. I know I did, and I accept that, but I can't let you keep hurting them! Please, stop Chara! Just- just stop!_

"Why would I stop?" You storm down the corridor, scowling at the bright walls. "And what do you mean _let me?_ You sold your soul to me – it's mine now!"

You halt abruptly. You can't move. Your breathing speeds up as you strain against the force keeping you still. It takes a moment for you to realise it's _Frisk_ holding you in place. "Stop that," you demand, voice shaking. "You can't do that. You can't!"

Your body turns so that you're looking at your reflection. But it's not your reflection, is it? It's Frisk's.

 _P-please, Chara. You can change too, I know it! You just have to try._

Your eyes are red. They're a darker shade than _your_ eyes, but they're close. They're enough.

You seize control back from Frisk, shoving them to the back of your head. You can't hurt them, but you can hurt yourself.

Your fist smashes into the mirror, shattering the glass. Frisk cries out from the pain and you grin viciously. You look into your eyes. There's only you there now.

"It's me," you say firmly. "It's still me. It's me-"

"Hello, Chara."

* * *

The human is…weird.

They're the first human you've seen since you were on the surface, apart from Frisk. Your memories of the humans in your village are hazy, but you know they were nothing like this one.

You rest against the wall of the Ruins, watching as they fight against Sans. Only it's not really a fight, is it? The human refuses to hurt him. They don't even try, simply dodging his attacks with a joyful grin that never falters, even when the attacks make contact. They barely seem to notice. They're _enjoying_ it.

You thought you understood, at first. You liked fighting the tougher monsters; it made victory all the sweeter. But the human is fighting without any intent of injuring Sans – and they're having fun. They talk to him as well as you and Flowey, making dumb comments about clouds and snowball fights. They never get frustrated or angry; the closest you've seen them to that is when you first met them.

You shiver slightly. You hate how powerless they made you feel in that moment, quickly disarming you and lifting you so easily. You felt like they could do whatever they wanted to you, even though you _knew_ you could always reset and escape them.

You've watched for any hint of that sort of anger since. There's been nothing. They apologised to you, looking genuine as far as you could tell. You didn't trust it. They're probably just pretending to be a nice person.

 _Why would they pretend?_

You shift. So they can hurt you again, obviously.

 _Maybe they don't want to hurt you?_

Don't be so naïve, Frisk. They're a human – of course they want to hurt others. It's in their nature.

 _Then why do they refuse to attack Sans? They're really strong, aren't they? It'd be easy for them._

This brings you up short. _Why_ won't they kill Sans? You know they said something about not liking killing, but that can't be it. There has to be more.

 _I…I don't think there is, Chara._

"Who asked you?" you mutter quietly. The human manages to do a kind of stumbling cartwheel out of the way of some bones, and they give a delighted laugh. You fight down the smile twitching across you face.

You hear Frisk giggle. _They're kind of funny, aren't they?_

You vehemently disagree.

* * *

You watch the sleeping human. They're slumped on the floor against the wall, breathing slowly. You're sure it must be uncomfortable by they seem happy enough to just lie there. They fell asleep within seconds even though you're only a few metres away. You can't think of anyone else who'd feel safe enough in your presence to do that.

Well, not just your presence. Asriel is looking at you warily, and after a long moment he climbs out of the earth in exchange for the human's lap. You laugh.

"Are you going to protect the human from the big, bad Chara?"

"I know you're scared of them, and I'm scared of _you_ – seems to me that this is the best place I can be," he says simply. You'd buy his act if not for the way he's trembling.

You ignore the guilt that surges through you, smothering it with familiar anger. It's Asriel's fault he's a soulless flower and you're dead, not yours. If he'd just followed the plan, everything would've gone fine. All the monsters would've been on the surface and the humans would be dead.

"You don't forgive me for killing you all those times? Oh, I'm _sorry_ Asriel. I'm just so stressed these days." You smile sweetly. "I'm sure you understand."

"I do. I get it, really. Hurting your best friend makes total sense." He hums thoughtfully. "Didn't you hunt me down specifically these past few times? I'm honoured."

You look away. "You should be." You don't want to talk about that. "So, why are you following this human around anyway?"

Asriel gives you a sceptical look, but doesn't draw attention to the abrupt change in subject. "They're the first new thing to happen to the Underground in a long time. Of course I'm gonna stay with them."

"I don't get what's so great about them," you mumble. Then you wince at how pathetic that sounded.

Asriel shrugs. "They're interesting. Hard to predict. It's better than just watching you kill everyone."

"Did they tell you anything about these 'loops'?"

His eyes flicker over your curious expression. He begins hesitantly, "I thought…I thought you were causing them at first." He grimaces. "I guess that's why they weren't too happy to see you."

You give a stiff smile. "That makes sense." You remember the sharp anger in the human's eyes as they easily held you up, how they barely react to physical pain and were so numb to the idea of dying. Just…how insane were they? Had resetting so many times really broken them that much?

 _Is that how we'll be?_

"It must be more fun up on the surface," you say idly. "So many more people to kill!"

His eyes drift to the side. "Chara…don't you think you'd get bored of it after a while?" Before you can answer he shakes himself. "Ha ha, what am I saying? Of course you wouldn't."

You plaster on a grin. "You know me too well."

* * *

The froggit collapses into dust. You had to hit it a lot with a stick you found, but it eventually did the job. You really need to get your knife back.

 _How…how long have they been resetting?_

You don't know. How are you supposed to know? Frisk should keep their stupid questions to themselves.

 _Sorry. It's just- they've killed people. Like us. And they stopped-_

You snort. That's what Frisk took from that? "They're a murderer. We should be scared." You keep walking through the Ruins, hoping to come across another monster. You killed a lot on your way through but you're sure there are a few remaining.

 _If they were going to hurt us, I think they would've done it already._

How are they so sure? The human could just be playing with you. Dragging it out so they can hurt you when you least expect it.

You get the impression that Frisk shakes their head. _They said they're our knight._

You laugh faintly. You're certain that was a joke, if anything. Besides, since when were humans dependable or loyal, or whatever knights are supposed to be?

The human might be good entertainment for a while, though. You'll let them keep fighting Sans, however futile the effort is, and you'll find out what you can about them. Then, when you get bored, you'll see how much fun killing them yourself is.

Just how nonchalant will they be about a knife carving up their insides?


	15. Chapter 15

Once again you're saved by a distraction, this time in the form of two skeleton brothers.

When Chara abruptly stops you do too, even though there's a relatively large area left between you and the monsters. You peer at the snow, wondering if there's something underneath it. You don't really want to step on a mine again. Getting your legs blown off wasn't pleasant.

"Humans!"

You look up at Papyrus and wave. "Hi."

"Hello to you, as well, human!" He waves a hand to the area between you, holding a glass ball in the other. "In order to stop you, my brother and I have created some puzzles! I think you'll find this one…" He beams. "Quite shocking! For you see, this one is the invisible electricity maze! When you touch the walls of this maze- what are you doing?!"

Chara shoots Papyrus a glare as they walk around what you guess is the edge of the maze, keeping far to the right. Then a sweet smile forms on their face. "I'm already captured, remember?"

Papyrus straightens in realisation. "Yes! I almost forgot, smaller human, thank you for reminding me! Now!" He turns and points at you. "In order to pass you will need to navigate this dastardly maze! Should you touch the walls this orb will administer a hearty zap, which will hurt, quite a bit! Or so I am told, anyway."

You shrug. "I'm game. Trial and error, huh?"

"Exactly!" His grin widens. "Okay, you can go ahead now."

You blink, then gesture at the orb in his hand. "Uh, you still have the zappy orb. I thought I was supposed to hold that?" You hear a disappointed sight from Chara.

Surprise flickers across Papyrus' face, and for a moment he looks confused before he wipes it away with a smile. "Oh! Of course, that is correct." He heads towards the edge of the maze then pauses, bone brows lowering. "If I throw the orb will you be able to catch it, human? I assure you my throwing skills are nearly as great as my puzzle skills!"

You prepare yourself, lifting your hands. "Sure thing."

He throws the orb to you and you barely catch it, raising up onto your tiptoes to grab it out of the air. It hums faintly. You tuck it under your arm and give him a thumbs up. After a moment of hesitation he returns the thumbs up enthusiastically.

"Okay, try now!"

You've been electrocuted to death before. It was one of the deaths you tried out of curiosity – after all the safety videos in school cautioning you about the dangers of electricity, how could you not?

It wasn't a very fun death. You felt nothing at first, and then all of a sudden pain rushed through every nerve, spiking through your chest and sending your heart stuttering. Your senses cut out – you couldn't see or hear or feel anything except that agony.

The voltage wasn't high enough to kill you instantly, so you were frozen in place, suffering, for who knows how long. It took you a good few loops to consider repeating that experiment.

When you step forwards and encounter the wall, it's nothing like that. A momentary jolt runs through your body, leaving behind a tingling sensation, and that's it. It makes you give a surprised laugh.

"You okay there?"

You wave off Sans' concern. "I'm fine! Just, figuring it out."

You don't think that Papyrus is the kind of guy who'd make an impossible puzzle. So there has to be some trick to this. There's no indication in the snow as to the right path, and even though you could take Chara's route that'd just be cheating.

Shuffling a little to the left, you start forwards, tensing in preparation for the shock. Nothing happens. It seems you found the correct path through sheer luck. You're alright for another two steps before the orb electrocutes you.

Okay, so what's different about the right way and the wrong way? You can't see where the walls are, so how are you-

You face palm. "Wow, I'm dumb."

"Human? Why are you injuring yourself? Please, if the puzzle is too much for you to handle, do not take your frustration out on yourself!"

"I'm good, Papyrus." Just stupid.

You close your eyes. When you actually listen for it, you can hear the orb giving off a faint buzzing sound. As you turn on the spot the sound gets louder- then quieter, until it's almost silent. You move in the direction of the quiet, your steps becoming more confident as you go longer without being shocked.

You open your eyes when you hear slow, sarcastic clapping. Chara is looking at you, unimpressed. "You finally finished. Yay."

"There is indeed a cause for celebration!" Papyrus declares. He gives you a proud look. "Although it took you some time to solve the puzzle, you managed it in the end! Hmm, I would like to reward you with spaghetti! Smaller human, do you perhaps have a knife I could use?" He watches Chara with an unexpectedly serious gaze.

Chara gapes at him. "…a knife? Why would-"

"Never mind!" He grins widely. "Of course a fork is far superior to a knife, in any situation, really! But now is not the time for spaghetti. No, you have many more puzzles to face, taller human! And the next puzzle will not be so easy!"

"You can just-" He runs off. You slump. "-call me Avery. But taller human is fine too. Very accurate." You blink down at the orb before looking over at Sans. "So, do I keep this or will he be wanting it back?"

"I'll take it."

You hand it over and he puts it in his pocket. Somehow, it manages to fit. Wait, where did it come from in the first place? You didn't think Papyrus has any pockets on him…

Oh, right. Magic.

Sans shifts uncomfortably. "Uh, thanks, by the way. For doin' these puzzles. I'd…I'd kinda forgotten how excited he gets about them."

You grin. "No need to thank me. I haven't seen anything like this before, and those shocks weren't even fatal!"

His brows lift. "'course they weren't. He doesn't wanna kill ya."

"What about Undyne? And whoever's at the Capital?"

He shrugs, smile shrinking. "They're a bit less friendly than my brother, 'specially Undyne. I'd stay outa her way if I was you."

"Okay. That's not very reassuring."

So this Undyne was going to be an obstacle. She's one of the monsters Chara mentioned killing, right? If it comes down to it hopefully they'll be able to do so again, or you'll just have to break your no-killing streak.

You have all the time in the world to figure out ways past her, but you don't know if you'll be able to keep Chara interested long enough to get them to the lab. You'd just tell them about it if you didn't think they'd be too suspicious to go with you. They can't know what's going to happen – they'd just load or reset. Maybe you could knock them out when you get near, but you have no idea what that would do. It could automatically cause a reset, or they might wake up at the worst moment, or it could even kill them.

For now, you're happy to go along at this pace. Chara hasn't indicated they're fed up with you yet, and as long as you're more entertaining than murder things will work out.

Sans winks, not seeming to notice the calculating look flickering through your eyes. "Don't worry 'bout it. I'll keep an eye socket out for ya."

Chara trudges over to you, quickly wiping off their impatient expression in favour of a happy smile. "It's been a while since I bothered with doing those puzzles, hasn't it?" They blink up at the two of you innocently. "Frisk might like them, but _I_ think they're just a waste of time. What's the point of putting off killing Papyrus? It doesn't make any difference whether he's _happy_ before he dies, or not."

You play with a stray thread as you see Sans' eyes go dark. Why does Chara always have to taunt him? You understand that seeing what reactions you can get out of people is fun, but you've found that being nice to them always has the best results.

You don't feel any sort of compulsion to be a good person, and it can be hard to figure out the right thing to do – still, you've noticed that you tend to be happier when other people are happy. So maybe it's selfish. That's fine. It works for you.

Sans takes a step towards Chara. "Want to keep enjoyin' the fresh air? Don't threaten my brother."

"Why do you even care?" they as curiously. "You never used to do anything before I got to the Judgement Hall, and even then you'd only fight me if I killed enough monsters." They sway from one foot to the other. "You act like you care _so much_ about Papyrus, but do you really? You don't get to act like the noble big brother. Not when you've let him die countless times. Not- _ack!"_

Chara jerks into the air a few feet above the ground. Sans' arm is extended as he glares coldly at them, one eye shimmering with the same blue that wraps around Chara's red soul. Pain flickers across Chara's face as they struggle.

"You really wanna know?" he asks softly. "Maybe I could ignore it when it was just nightmares and flashes of another reality. Didn't feel real, y'know?" He gives an empty chuckle. "And then, all of a sudden, it _was._ I was every Sans who got left in the dark, who saw everyone run for their lives only to be slaughtered, who died time and time again trying to stop _you."_

He grins darkly. "Kinda has an effect on a guy."

You stare. God damn it Sans, you're supposed to be the sane one.

You clap your hands loudly, gaining the attention of both monster and child. You smile brightly. "Why don't you put Chara down, huh? I think you've made your point."

He snorts. "Give it a rest, pal. You can't stop 'em from killing everyone from here to the Throne Room - they'll just figure a way 'round you, if not through ya. Least my way I can contain the damage. It's the best anyone can do."

Your smile doesn't falter. "Shut the fuck up, Sans."

You walk over to Chara, placing an arm under the back of their knees and another around their shoulders so that you're supporting most of their weight. Their startled gaze meets your own.

"You can let Chara go now, Sans." You look into his wide eyes. "I've got them. Trust me a little, okay?"

For a long moment he doesn't do anything. You wonder what he's thinking – if he's considering just killing Chara and sending you both back to the Ruins. You'd just keep on fighting him until you broke past him, alive or not. In a contest of will, you know you'll win. You're practically moulded for patience, after all.

He sighs heavily. "Hope you know what you're doing."

Chara drops slightly into your arms, and they quickly grasp your sweater when you shift in place, adjusting your hold. They don't weigh much at all, really.

You grin at Sans. "I never know what I'm doing. It'd be no fun if I did."


	16. Chapter 16

In the space of a blink Sans disappears, leaving behind a pair of footprints in the snow. You're surprised he listened to you. He must be as desperate to stop the resets as you are.

Chara grumbles at you to let them down. You quickly do so, carefully setting them down in the snow. They brush away the crumples in their sweater and refuse to meet your gaze.

"You alright?" you ask. Their soul's returned to their chest and they don't seem injured, but you've got an idea of how much being held up like that hurts.

"I'm fine," they say shortly. They glance at you from the corner of their eyes. "Amazing, even."

You give a surprised laugh. "Well, that's good!" You straighten up, before frowning slightly. "Is taunting him like that really worth it? He could've killed you."

They shrug. "I'd just load again. Anyway, it's the best way to get information out of someone. Make them angry and they let things slip."

You tilt your head. "Really? I've found that being nice to people works much better. Maybe that's just me, heh."

"Guess it is," they say flatly.

You examine their dull expression before coming to a decision. You spin around and drop into a crouch. "Okay, it's piggy back time!"

"…what?!"

You peak over your shoulder at Chara's baffled face. You awkwardly hold your arms out behind you. "I was pretty clear there. Piggy back rides always made me feel better when I was a kid."

They cross their arms. "I don't want one. And I'm not a kid!"

You snort. "Yeah, you are. Come on, you'll get to be taller than people for once!" you cajole.

They seem to be arguing with themselves, expressions flickering rapidly across their face. They take a half-step forward, before they give a resigned look. "Okay, okay! Stop it," they mutter, almost too quietly for you to hear. You raise an eyebrow but don't say anything. Could they have been talking to Frisk? You don't know how this whole possession thing works.

They shuffle closer to you. "So what do I do?"

"Just wrap your arms around my neck-" you wait until they do so, leaning against your back in order to reach "-and I'll take care of the rest!" You hook your arms under their legs and lift, standing up as you do so.

Chara yelps, grasp tightening until they're almost strangling you. "I'm gonna fall!" they wail. "You're gonna drop me!"

"I-I've got you." You wheeze for breath. "You're not going to fall." You squeeze their legs gently. "See?"

You wait several seconds. Slowly, their grip loosens. "Oh."

You chuckle. "You alright up there?"

"Yes," they say quickly. You feel a weight on the top of your head. Is that their chin? You don't think your skull is very comfortable, but whatever floats their boat.

"Onwards!" you proclaim to give Chara some warning as you start off. You feel their fingers pull at your sweater slightly. Other than that, they're doing good. A bit light, though. Have they not been eating enough? Or maybe it's just how their body is? You wish there was a doctor or something you could ask – you're not exactly an expert in this sort of thing.

You look around. The treeline has retreated to form another open area, snow rising in small hills and making it a bit more difficult for you to trudge through it. You're glad you decided to give Chara a lift; if it's tough for you, it'd be much harder for the shorty.

"Do you really just kill everyone?" you ask curiously.

"Yes. Why?" they ask lightly. "You've killed more than your fair share of humans."

"Well, yeah, but I stopped when it didn't serve a purpose anymore. When it wasn't- fun, I guess." You chew your lip. Describing how you felt when you realised the loops weren't ending…it's not easy. Hurting others was just another thing to keep you occupied after a while. "There's only so many reactions you can get. I guess you haven't gone through them all yet, huh?"

They shift. "I…maybe. I don't know. I thought I had; that's why I destroyed the previous world completely. Then, Frisk-" Chara cuts themselves off. After a few seconds they continue, "This new world is different."

"Yeah? How?"

One of their feet lightly kicks your side. "Well, you're here. Another human is a big change in script," they say teasingly. "Then there's the fact that Sans remembers. And, I think other monsters do too. If only a little bit."

"Really?" you say, intrigued. "That's cool. I've never had anyone remember the things I do. Like, I once murdered this guy's entire family, cut off their faces, and strung them up outside his house. I was getting revenge for how he cut me to pieces this one time, man, that sucked. Still, handy way to learn that there was a serial killer in the neighbourhood.

"Anyway, it was pretty hilarious how he broke down completely on his lawn! You wouldn't expect a guy like that to care so much about his family, but he must've. It's hard to fake crying that well. Then, next loop I got paid to babysit his kids, and they gave me a bit extra because I played a bunch of board games with them." You smile. "Nice kids. The girl – Jess, I think her name is – totally _owned_ Monopoly."

Chara is very quiet.

"You okay?"

" _Still think they're funny?"_ they whisper frantically. They twist your sweater tightly between their fingers.

You blink. "Um, what?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all, ha ha!"

Frowning slightly, you try to get a look at their face. When you see their shaky grin you put on a warm smile. "Hey, you can calm down. I told you I don't kill people anymore, remember? Besides, you haven't even given me a reason to kill you!"

"That's…that's not very reassuring."

"It isn't?" You chuckle. "Ah, sorry. I didn't think you'd be bothered by things like that."

They scowl at you. "I'm not bothered. I- I've done worse."

"Really?" You grin. "Same!"

Chara gives you a blank look. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

You hum thoughtfully, trudging through a deeper section of snow. "A lot of things. I never got around to being properly diagnosed – I figure it doesn't count if the psychiatrists don't know the loops are real."

"Psychiatrists?"

"People who diagnose and treat mental illnesses. I've seen _lots_ of those whenever I stick around my family; I'm not very good at keeping up the act for long, and eventually something leaks through. It can be kind of nice to just spill everything to a random stranger. But," You shrug. "I don't think they're really up to dealing with my level of issues. I could be wrong. Still, I like being outside where I can actually interact with new people."

You make your way up a hill and spot Papyrus sitting on the ground, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. Sans stands nearby, looking like he's barely holding in laughter.

He sees you first, and raises a brow. "You get tired or something?"

"Piggy back rides make you feel better. Apparently," Chara says sullenly, and you feel their cheek against your head as they turn away slightly.

"He's just jealous you're much taller than he is," you say, grinning at Sans. "Isn't that right?"

"In a test of height there could only be one winner!" Papyrus jumps up, standing as straight as possible. "It would be me, of course! Now, human, I am afraid that the puzzle crafted by my brother is far too difficult for you to handle." He flourishes the piece of paper. "Even I, the Great Papyrus, have some trouble with this most mind-boggling of puzzles! But fear not, it shall not best me for long! Nyeh heh heh!"

Chara snorts. "It's just a dumb word search."

You brighten. "Ooh, I love word searches! Can I see?"

He considers you. "Hmm, I suppose there's no harm in getting another opinion." He goes to hand it over when he realises you can't take it unless you want to drop Chara. Instead he holds the word search in front of your face so that you can read it.

You're briefly surprised that it's a kid's puzzle, before you start trying to solve it. A few of the words have already been circled in red and crossed out. There's a doodle of Papyrus standing proudly in the corner, his cape twirling behind him, wearing a shirt that says "Royal Guard". The sight of it makes you grin before you focus on the word search again.

It doesn't take you long to realise that the puzzle _can't_ be solved.

You give Sans a flat look. "Really? An impossible puzzle?"

He shrugs at you, grin widening. "If it's too much for ya don't _letter_ get you down."

"Weak," Chara comments.

"I thought it was pretty humorous," you disagree. Then you blink. "Wait, no, _humerus._ It was pretty humerus. Which…you probably would've assumed I meant if I hadn't corrected myself." You hang your head and sigh. "I am my own downfall."

Chara squawks in protest at the movement. You hurriedly lift your head up again. "Sorry."

"Sans! Is what the taller human says true?" Somehow, Papyrus manages puppy eyes despite having only a pair of eye sockets to work with. It's quite impressive. "Is this puzzle really unsolvable?"

Sans looks away, sweat forming on his skull (is it sweat? Can skeletons sweat?). "Uh, 'course not, Pap. Wouldn't be a puzzle if you can't solve it, right? Must've printed out wrong or somethin', that's all."

"In that case, this puzzle is most definitely not suitable for capturing the human!" Papyrus scratches his chin. Through a glove, to a chin made of bone. Wait, can they feel with their bones the same way you can with your skin?

You nudge Papyrus' leg with your foot. "Can you feel that?" you ask him.

He blinks at you. "Well, yes. Of course I can."

"Interesting." Does their magic allow them to do so? It's probably what's holding them together, after all. Then again, it's not like they're actual skeletons – if someone compared human bone to theirs it wouldn't have the same composition. You think.

Wait. No. Bad Avery. You had your scientist phase, remember? And did that end well? No.

"I promise not to experiment on you," you tell Papyrus solemnly. "Well, not without consent," you add in a mutter.

"Um. Okay?" Papyrus gives you a confused look. "I'm glad to hear it?"

"You have more puzzles to set up, right bro?" Sans says quickly, pointedly moving closer until he's slightly in front of Papyrus.

"Right! I shall see you at the next puzzle, humans!"

Sans waits until his brother is out of earshot before shooting you a dour look. "What the hell was that?"

You smile innocently. "Nothing. Nothing _at all._ I'm completely normal."

Chara knocks the side of your head. "You're a terrible liar."

You laugh. "Guess so." You shrug at Sans. "I'm not going to do anything to Papyrus. Cool your jets, brother complex."

Chara starts snickering whilst Sans gapes at you. "I don't- I _don't_ have a brother complex."

You shrug as you start walking again. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

There's a growl behind you and an irritated, "What does that even _mean?"_

"Inappropriate use of literature to make a point." You click your tongue. "Get with the times, Sans. It's all the rage these days."

When you don't hear anything in response you assume he's teleported away. You're proven both wrong and right when he flickers into existence at your side, making you jump and almost drop Chara, who isn't too pleased with you. Their tighter grip makes you wince momentarily.

You return Sans' smug glance with an eye roll. "You're a dick, Sans," you inform him plainly.

"So're you."

You concede to that point. "True."


End file.
